Colouring with nature's beauty

A few years ago I was introduced to eco-dyeing by my friend Deb Clarke on one of her art making adventures in the remote areas around Alice Springs, Northern Territory. There camping in swags on ancient lands with Larapinta Creative Camps, by day we would roam the local bush in search of suitable plants to use for fabric dyeing on the campfire at night.

Now back home, I have collected local leaves and flowers and created my dyeing practice on a small gas burner on my back deck.

Recently on a visit to a friend's farm, I collected a huge bag of pods from the Cootamundra Wattle tree. My test on these pods produced a gorgeous purple pink colour. Purple being my absolute favourite colour, I was excited about the potential.

Seed pods of the Cootamundra Wattle Oct 2012

 

Alas, I waited too long (2 weeks) and the pods have aged and lost their colour. However, I decided to try dyeing with them, in case the colour was forthcoming. I also tried a number of new folding techniques to get patterns as well as layered leaves to give imprinted effects. The scarves are silk and they take to eco-dyeing very well. I am off to the country again this weekend so I will be on the lookout for some fresh wattle pods! This time, I will try freezing them to preserve the colour. This is how you preserve flower petal colour for dyeing. I'll keep you posted.

 

Silk Scarves dyed using the wattle pods Oct 2012