Process
Become one with the Earth; Stay grounded, be grateful, and be respectful towards nature. These are the first steps.
Collecting Plant Material
My way of caring and showing my love to the Earth is through the exclusive use of natural colours to dye my fabrics, many of which I find on the ground after a windy day. Others come from food waste and others are gifts from my garden that I have patiently dedicated myself to expanding and watching grow.
Preparing the fabric
Meanwhile, I am collecting the plant material, the fibres are also getting ready to properly attach to the colours of nature. This crucial process in natural dyeing is known as mordanting.
*Mordant is a metal salt that is used to fix a dye in the fibre. There are various types of mordants
Natural Dyeing
It is the process by which the plant material is attached to the mordant or fabric. Here is when we start seeing some magic...
Eco Printing
There are many ways to create prints by using natural dyes. For my work, I usually use ecoprint, shibori, and hand-painted.
*Ecoprint is transferring the hues and shapes of leaves, flowers, or fruits on the textile by wrapping the fabric with the plants and then steaming or boiling them all together.
*Shibori is a resist-dyeing technique that by stitching, binding, and clamping the silk, creates patterns.
Mark Making
I create patterns by hand by mixing various techniques, from natural dyeing to hand-painted with pigments, dyes, or even mordants. Personally, I love it because it allows me to work intuitively, and if I make a mistake I have learned to embrace it since I know it's an opportunity to create something new.
Pure Magic
After a long, slow, and very delicate process, we can finally enjoy these textiles.
Each piece contains a small part of the plants’ life within its fibres; creating something special and absolutely unique.