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Elisabeth Beverleyplant dyed wool - handknitting |
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plant dyeing |
I dye with freshly picked local wild and garden plants - leaves, flowers, nuts and twigs. In this way the captured colour catches the moment and the season and so the coloured wools reflect the passing year. Spring begins with daffodils, the gentle shoots of dog's mercury, nettles and cow parsley and leaves of dock, comfrey and elder. By summer there are wild and garden flowers, ox eye daisies, chamomile, hollyhocks, golden rod, dahlias, ragwort, yarrow. Autumn brings walnuts, toadstools and berries and the year ends with ivy and winter twigs and bark. I grow woad and madder which produce blues and pinks, but in general the natural colours produced by native plants are the earth colours - greens, yellows, greys and browns. The challenge and the pleasure for me is uncovering the range and subtlety possible within this spectrum. Accurate reproduction is impossible. But while there is infinite variation there is also a satisfying empathy between the many colours that can be expressed.The unpredictability inherent in both the plants and the process add to the enjoyment as well as making these colours unique. |
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