Flower Moon
botanical inks
This Flower Moon I am celebrating the fertile green leaves
and flowers generously blossoming everywhere in constantly changing colours.
Suddenly everything has sprung to life
It is the most comforting and sublime feeling.
I want to eat Nettles everyday, rub her oil into my skin, place vases of her leafy greens and the meadow flowers togather around the house and studio. To be in their company constantly.
I’m excited for the promise of Summer to come and looking forward to all the beautiful plant meetings and flower inspired creativity.
I have a collection of beautiful “Bundle Dyeing With Flowers” workshops planned
at some gorgeous locations in the South West of England.
Please join me at the following:
This Summer I’m offering flower dyeing experiences in beautiful locations:
An opportunity for plant connection through the gateway of craft.
With a simple rose tea ritual & sensory stimulation,
for an embodied & heart-centred creative practice.
Bundle Dyeing With Flowers
Bundle dyeing is a beautiful practise to move into deeper connection with flowers and create a wearable amulet which imbues their delightful herbal qualities within their dye colours.I love to invite Rose into this craft with a tincture tea ritual, to drop into the heart space and meet the flowers from here.I have some flowers I love to bundle with, including marigolds, coreopsis, dyers chamomile and cosmos (for purchase here grown in the British Isles without synthetic substances). These are traditional dye flowers with powerful pigmentation which lasts through endless seasons. It’s a lovely ritual, to meet and collect the flowers on the Flower Moon, when the plants are singing loudly and this green and pleasant land is at its most fertile.
You can add any dark colour flowers which you know to be safe to this recipe.
You will need:
- Silk cloth (organic UK-grown peace silk available here). Pre mordanted to help fix the colours - recipe info here.
- Dye flowers
- Heat Source
- Water
- ACV
- Twine/string
- Tongs
- Stainless steel pot and lid
- Stainless steel pasta insert/sieve or vegetable steamer for steaming bundles
- Bowl
1. Take your pre-mordanted silk and pre-wet it - soak in water for an hour to fully dampen to receive the dyesbest.
2. Wring out excess water
3. Place out over a clean table surface.
4. Scatter with petals or your choice. You can add some dye powders too for extra bursts of colour if you like.
5. Roll up from one end to the other and then take one end of the roll and roll it from one end to the other to make a spirral/ snail shape and secure with twine.
6. Pour a little ACV into the bowl and dip the bundle in to saturate. This will help brighten colours.
7. Pop into the steamer and make sure enough water is in the bottom chamber to steam for an hour.
8. Turn on the heat and steam for 1 hour. Turn off and allow to cool.
9. Remove from the steamer and open.
10. Hang to "cure"somewhere dry and warm for a week to allow colour to set.
11. Gently wash by hand with gentle soaps such as a baby mild soap.