THE ART OF NATURAL DYEING
Guest Blog post from Lancaster & Cornish
Irene Griffin has been absorbed in the world of colour since childhood and delights in sharing the ancient art of natural dyeing with textiles students and practitioners. Based in Cornwall at Falmouth University, her ongoing practice of the subject is developing into research of sustainable industrial colour production as well as the anthropological significance of plant dyes.
Irene often works with two celebrated dye plants Madder, (rubia tinctorum) and Weld, (reseda luteola), both of which being historically important for creating good lightfast shades of orange/red and yellow.
The powerful pigment Alazarin contained in the roots of the Madder plant, strong enough to dye the skeletons of herbivores that feed off them, has established itself in paint and cloth across time. From flame oranges and deep rusts, to pink corals the rich palette derived from this plant are staple in the pantheon of natural colours.
Yellow dyes, notoriously prone to fading were finally established in Europe with the use of the specific dye plants, one of which being Weld. Commonly known as Dyers rocket, the tall spires of this plant are cultivated to produce sharp pale lemons, bright clear yellows, gold, khaki and olive all able to successfully withstand exposure to light.
Irene suggests that the delicious hues derived from these plants never fail to engage the dyer be them novice or master and is reassured that today they are performing in new ways, contributing to contemporary paints and chemicals in industry.
Irene will demonstrate and speak at Selvedge's Indigo & The Art of Natural Dyeing workshop.
INDIGO AND THE ART OF NATURAL DYEING
CORNWALL
14-18 MARCH 2016
www.selvedge.org/events
phograph credit: James Fisher
Irene often works with two celebrated dye plants Madder, (rubia tinctorum) and Weld, (reseda luteola), both of which being historically important for creating good lightfast shades of orange/red and yellow.
The powerful pigment Alazarin contained in the roots of the Madder plant, strong enough to dye the skeletons of herbivores that feed off them, has established itself in paint and cloth across time. From flame oranges and deep rusts, to pink corals the rich palette derived from this plant are staple in the pantheon of natural colours.
Yellow dyes, notoriously prone to fading were finally established in Europe with the use of the specific dye plants, one of which being Weld. Commonly known as Dyers rocket, the tall spires of this plant are cultivated to produce sharp pale lemons, bright clear yellows, gold, khaki and olive all able to successfully withstand exposure to light.
Irene suggests that the delicious hues derived from these plants never fail to engage the dyer be them novice or master and is reassured that today they are performing in new ways, contributing to contemporary paints and chemicals in industry.
Irene will demonstrate and speak at Selvedge's Indigo & The Art of Natural Dyeing workshop.
INDIGO AND THE ART OF NATURAL DYEING
CORNWALL
14-18 MARCH 2016
www.selvedge.org/events
phograph credit: James Fisher
2 comments
So delighted to be have Irene Griffin at the Selvedge event in Cornwall – her knowledge of natural dyes is phenomenal, and her passion contagious! Sian, Lancaster & Cornish.
I would love to attend this workshop but it is out of my price range. I am currently doing a Masters in Fashion & Textiles at Bath Spa University and researching William Morris’s old dying and printing methods.
Maybe I could put the one day course on my christmas wish list. What a lovely gift it would make.
Caroline Allen