I have tried fabric dying using herbs and vegetables in preparation for the collaborative workshop. Vegetables I have used are beetroot, red cabbage, spinach, paprika and turmeric and the results have been tremendous results. I have chosen vegetables based upon my findings in a book that I mentioned in my previous post titled ‘colour theory’ which I will link below.
The post goes into detail about the different feelings and emotions that surround each colour being blue, yellow, purple and orange. I have chosen these vegetables and herbs in relation to these colours as they spoke out to me the most in the book.
I must say the dying process was a memorable one at that in more ways than one. One reason is the smells. They were distinct and passed all through the house so I wasn’t the most popular individual. The other reason is that it was a fantastic learning curve, with extremely exiting results and the waiting time was long but I knew its would be worth it.
The fabric for this artwork was taken from a tablecloth that was around four metres in length and is something that we have used as a tablecloth at Easter and Christmas. I wanted to use something that has had a lot of emotion surrounding it as the project is associated with feelings and emotions and the connections they have with specific spaces.
In the first three images I kept the segments whole but in the last one (bottom right corner) I pre cut the squares to size making the dyeing process far easier something I wish I had done from the binging.
As the fabric dyed the smell faded. I think the fact I left them outside for around 24 hours helped with this as it gave them a good chance to air.