Shibori workshop

A Winter Shibori workshop using an acorn (Wales,Oct 2019) and an oak leaf (Blackwell, Oct 2019) dye bath combined with an iron modifier - which generated a good grey/blueish colours. We began with Itajime - a Japanese folding technique - using scoured charity shop cotton sheeting. The acorn bath produced some interesting violet tones although I rinsed the blocks briefly - as instructed! after an hour's simmering in the pot and unfortunately flooded the pattern a bit. The oak leaf shibori folds were more successful (not rinsed after dyeing)and produced very clear dyed folds forming a grid like pattern.

< These pieces will eventually form part of the final artwork.

We also experimented with the Japanese technique, Hapazome - a process involving literally bashing plant material into fabric with a hammer. The leaves and flowers were mostly collected from the grounds of Blackwell and pre-frozen in line with museum 'pest' management guidelines (although I personally have a problem with the use of the word 'pest'.) The greenish bracken leaves were disappointing - perhaps because they were too dry due to the time of year but the Acer leaves, sage, hydrangea left a clear imprint. Some flowers just left a trace of colour.