The Magic of Botanical Dye

Happy fall everyone! It’s Sharon writing to you today, and I am so thrilled about this post. I don’t think I have ever done any art form as exciting as botanical dyeing. The challenge of trying to find the right combination of mordant to metal pipe to metal pan to dye bath is always a source of excitement and sometimes wonderment. This last combination has hit a new high. The imprints are so vivid, my personal best! I had to do them one more time just to make sure they would turn out as beautiful. In my last botanical dyeing class, the students and I made Botanical Dyed Samples. I had mordanted the wool for the students in my own tin “brew” and was very excited to share the beautiful results. Two of the girls had brought some silk, one piece had been mordanted in alum from another class. I wasn’t too eager to add this fabric into the mix, the dye pots were already going to be full to the brim. Then my  creative “lightbulb” went off and I had the girls lay their silk over the wool, and we rolled them up together as one piece. Their imprints were just as vivid as my experiments and I am so happy! I have never been so completely amazed, or gratified during a class. Al of my experimentation over the last two years culminated in these beautiful samples.Since I started this process I have never looked at nature in the same way, and I am always wondering how that leaf, pod, berry, or bark will imprint. I feel blessed to have found something as rewarding and challenging to teach. I look forward to many more years of experimenting and sharing with you my findings.

Please come join us in the excitement and the magic of the sample class. Give us a call at 916-652-2134 for upcoming dates, and to ask us questions!