Liz Williamson
Weaving Eucalypts Project (70 panels), 2020-2021
silk dyed by artists in Australia, India and Bangladesh with locally sourced eucalyptus leaves, bark or twigs; silk hand woven as weft into a linen and cotton warp
dimensions variable
The Weaving Eucalypts Project interweaves local colour, cultural connections and universal weaving traditions. It began in November 2019 with an invitation from Dr Kevin Murray to participate in the Make the world again exhibition with work that revealed the capacity of textiles to connect cultures together.
To create a collaborative work, I invited colleagues in Australia and India to colour silk fabric with locally sourced eucalyptus leaves, weaving the dyed silk as weft into panels which referenced rag weaving traditions. The colours reflected place and location while the process, involved friendship creating a unique community of practitioners.
In 2021, the project has been expanded to include representation from countries touched by the Indian Ocean – Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Thailand.
#1
Place: Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia
Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar gum) leaves and bark gathered along the driveway at Lochinver, Carisbrook where Sugar gums were planted by my grandfather as a wind break in the 1920s. Leaves and bark were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#2
Place: Stanmore, NSW, Australia
E.cinerea (Silver dollar) leaves were sourced locally and Eucalyptus pilularis (Blackbutt) leaves collected from the tree growing in my street. Leaves from both species were wrapped together into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#3
Dyer: Judith Kentish, Kobble Creek, Queensland, Australia
Judith is a visual artist with an ongoing interest in materiality, with a focus on the temporal aspect of art making where labour intensive processes and consideration of material are paramount. These ideas have been explored through steeping, tending and colouring cloth with locally sourced plant dyes.
Eucalyptus acmenoides (White mahogany) fresh growth leaves were collected during a period of drought which resulted in the clear yellow colour. Silk dyed with in a pot with alum mordant.
#4
Dyer: Holly Story, Fremantle, WA, Australia
Holly is a visual artist with a 30-year relationship with a research site on the Deep River in the south coast of WA. With an abiding interest in the relationship between the human and natural worlds, Holly has incorporated many local plant dyes into her artwork.
Silk fabric was coloured with Eucalyptus diversicolour (Karri) leaves, rolled and steamed printed using rainwater.
#5
Dyer: Julie Ryder, Canberra, Australia
Julie is a practicing textile artist, designer and educator with a hybrid practice combining her knowledge of science with her love of textiles and using nature as both muse and co-collaborator. Natural materials are used for dyes and incorporated into her artwork.
Eucalyptus nicholii (Willow-leaf peppermint) leaves collected following a summer hailstorm, knotted into silk fabric and dyed in a stainless steel pot with no mordant.
#6
Dyer: Mary Burgess, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Mary’s weaving practice is called Woven Memories re-working precious fabrics and clothes from the past to create something new for the future.
Silk dyed with Corymbia citriodora (Lemon-scented gum) bark and leaves from a tree growing in her garden. The silk was dyed several times with vinegar and rusty iron as an additive. After the initial dyeing, part of the silk was tied to create a resist from a rusty iron water dip. This caused the unwrapped silk to turn a charcoal grey, creating stripes when woven.
#7
Place: Santiniketan, West Bengal, India
Silk fabric in this panel has been coloured with leaves collected in a park in the Prantik district of Santiniketan in January 2020. From my research, eucalyptus in this area is a hybrid, a form of Eucalyptus tereticornis known in India as Mysore gum and in Australia as Forest red gum. Leaves were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#8
Place: Muli, Saurashtra, Gujarat, India
Silk coloured with leaves collected along a roadside near Muli, Saurashtra in December 2019. From my research, eucalyptus in this area is a hybrid, a form of Eucalyptus tereticornis known in India as Mysore gum and widely planted in Gujarat in the 1960s. In Australia the common name is Forest red gum. Leaves were loosely knotted into silk fabric and pot dyed with an alum mordant.
#9
Dyer: Ro Cook, Lilyfield, NSW, Australia
Ro is a multi-disciplinary artist specialising in textiles who creates work by printing, dyeing and embellishing. She has been using and experimenting with natural dyes for over 20 years.
Silk fabric coloured with leaves from E.cinerea (Argyle apple or Silver dollar), E.sideroxylon rosea (Red ironbark) plus another unknown gum tree. Silk patterned by eco printing and coloured in a dye pot with alum.
#10
Place: Sumrasar Sheikh, Kutch, Gujarat, India
Silk coloured with leaves collected in the grounds of at Kala Raksha in Sumrasar Sheikh village near Ahmedabad in December 2019. From my research, eucalyptus in this area is a hybrid, a form of Eucalyptus tereticornis known in India as Mysore gum and widely planted in Gujarat in the 1960’s. In Australia the common name is Forest red gum. Leaves loosely knotted into silk fabric and dyed with an alum mordant.
#11
Place: Munnar, Kerala, India
Silk coloured with E.globulus (Blue gum) leaves collected at Top Station near Munnar in February 2020, near the Aranya Natural complex. The leaves were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#12
Place: Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia
Silk coloured with leaves from E.sideroxylon (Red ironbark) collected at Blue Wren Cottage, Lochinver, Carisbrook in March 2020 from a tree planted in the 1980s. Fresh leaves were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#13
Place: Munnar, Kerala, India
Silk coloured with E.grantis leaves collected in the grounds of Aranya Natural, Munnar in February 2020. In India, the common name is Toolur while in Australia, it is Flooded gum. Leaves were wrapped into silk fabric and pot dyed with an iron mordant.
#14
Place: Jorhat, Assam, India
Eucalyptus leaves were collected from a majestic old tree in the grounds of a tea plantation near Jorhat in February 2020. Eucalypts were planted on tea plantations in the late 1800s as ornamentals alongside roads and on rough terrain. Leaves were wrapped into silk fabric and used in the dye pot with an iron mordant.
#15
Dyer: Chris Hutch, Lilyfield, NSW, Australia
Chris has an eclectic creative practice making art works by hand and inspired by the botanical world which reflects her interest in the physics of colour and the chemistry of plant dyes.
Silk fabric dyed with locally sourced E.nicolii (Willow peppermint) collected in Lilyfield and Corymbia citriodora (Lemon scented gum) collected in Callan Park in Rozelle. The leaves were wrapped into bundles and pot dyed with copper and iron mordants.
#16
Place: Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia
Silk coloured with dry leaves from E.sideroxylon (Red ironbark) collected at Blue Wren Cottage, Lochinver, Carisbrook in March 2020 from a tree planted in the 1980s. Leaves were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#17
Place: Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia
Silk coloured with young leaves from E.camaldulensis (River red gum) collected along Deep Creek at Lochinver, Carisbrook in March 2020. Fresh young leaves wrapped into eco bundles and steamed and gave a range of colours including a soft green.
#18
Dyer: Blake Griffiths, Broken Hill, NSW, Australia
Blake is an artist, weaver, teacher and arts administrator with an interest in social and environmental issues. He explores concepts in woven textiles in diverse ways using natural, found, recycled materials.
Silk fabric was dyed with two different locally sourced eucalyptus. Some was dyed with the leaves from E.gilli (Curly mallee), endemic to the Broken Hill area and growing in Blake’s backyard and then overdyed with E.cinerea (Silver dollar) growing nearby. The other piece of the silk was coloured with windfall eco print of an unknown eucalyptus and overdyed with E.erythrocorys (Red capped gum).
#19
Dyer: Joanna Fowles, Helensburgh, NSW, Australia
Joanna’s practice is informed by theories of circular design, creating place-responsive artworks that combine minimal expression, natural materials and colours extracted from locally sourced natural materials, often urban foraged, post-consumer materials or waste resources.
The silk fabric in this panel was painted in stripes with several mordants before being dyed with bark from an unknown eucalyptus collected after a storm from a local roadside.
#20
Dyer: Ilka White, Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia
Ilka is an artist whose work reflects the principles of sustainability, an interest in world textile traditions and often responding to the forces at play within the natural world.
Ilka gathered leaves from eucalyptus growing within two blocks from her home: E.polyanthemos (Red box), E.cinerea (Silver dollar), E.sideroxylon (Mugga ironbark) and E.camaldulensis (Red gum). Silk fabric was divided into twelve pieces, dyed in four dyebaths using different mordants and some were post-mordanted with iron or alkali dips giving an ikat effect when woven.
#21
Dyer: Sue Hays, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Sue has a passion for the natural environment and is engaged in many art / craft practises including the complexities of plant dyeing.
Silk fabric in this panel was dyed with E.mannifera (Brittle gum) leaves collected from a friend’s garden in Canberra. After dyeing the fabric was divided into four sections and each mordanted with a different mordant. The resultant colours are yellow with alum, cinnamon with copper, brown-pink with iron and orange pink from no mordant.
#22
Dyer: Ro Cook, Katoomba, NSW, Australia
Ro is a multi-disciplinary artist specialising in textiles who creates work by printing, dyeing and embellishing. She has been using and experimenting with natural dyes for over 20 years.
Silk fabric in this panel was coloured with an organic print and placed in a dyebath with leaves from E.cinerea (Argyle apple or Silver dollar), E.sideroxylon rosea (Red ironbark) and E.blakelyi (Blakely’s redgum).
#23
Place: Stanmore, NSW, Australia
Silk coloured with leaves from unknown eucalyptus collected at Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia plus E.cinerea (Silver dollar) leaves collected in Sydney. For this panel, both types of leaves were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#24
Dyer: Robyn Barrow, Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia
Robyn is a weaver, photographer and textile artist creating artworks that reflect the natural world and her environment.
Silk fabric in this panel was coloured with E.globulus (Blue gum) and E.nicholli (Willow peppermint) leaves collected around Milawa in Northeast Victoria. The Blue gum leaves were soaked for 10 days in a copper pot then dyed for 2 hours (dark colour) while the Willow peppermint leaves were soaked for 10 days in a rusted tin pot then boiled for 2 hours in an aluminium pot (light colour). The different pots acted as mordants in the dye process.
#25
Dyer: Andrea Larkin, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
Andrea’s interest in textiles and landscape began in early childhood and both are reflected in her experimental practice.
Silk fabric in this panel was coloured with Corymbia torelliana, (commonly known as Cadaghi) leaves collected in Lismore, NSW.
Leaves were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles with some rusty nails and steamed; the bundles were wrapped with a pink cord which coloured some sections of the fabric.
#26
Dyer: Andrea Larkin, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
Andrea’s interest in textiles and landscape began in early childhood and both are reflected in her experimental practice.
Silk fabric in this panel was coloured with Corymbia torelliana, (commonly known as Cadaghi) leaves collected in Lismore, NSW. Leaves were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles with some rusty nails and steamed; the bundles were wrapped with a pink cord which coloured some sections of the fabric.
#27
Dyer: Anne Farren, Ardross, Perth, WA, Australia
Anne is an academic, curator and textile artist with a long engagement in making, principally in ceramics, textiles and fashion.
Silk fabric in this panel was dyed with leaves and small flower pods gathered from a local eucalyptus growing near Anne’s home and known as a Ghost gum. Silk fabric was pleated diagonally, tied into knots to create a resist and dye pot filled her studio with ‘an amazing scent of eucalyptus’.
#28
Dyer: Rebecca Mayo, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Rebecca is an academic and visual artist examining interactions between human and urban sites often using plant dyes collected from specific sites.
Rebecca used two types of eucalyptus leaves collected in her local area, to colour the silk fabric for this panel. A dye pot of E.pauciflora (Snowgum) leaves wrapped into a bundle with found cord and a copper mordant, gave the yellow tan colour. The lighter coloured silk was from young leaves collected from a flower arrangement (unknown species). These leaves were used to screen printing with alum before the fabric was woven through an old rusty deep fry basket and dyed in a pot.
#29
Dyer: Chris Hutch, Lilyfield, NSW, Australia
Chris has an eclectic creative practice making art works by hand and inspired by the botanical world which reflects her interest in the physics of colour and the chemistry of plant dyes.
Silk fabric in this panel was dyed in a pot of E.pauciflora (Snowgum) leaves collected in the Snowy Mountains, NSW. The resultant colours are due to the fabric being pre-mordanted – dark tan with iron, tan with alum, beige with copper and no mordant giving a light yellow.
#30
Dyer: Siri Hayes, Eltham, Victoria, Australia
Siri is a contemporary artist working in photography and sculptural forms and exploring our relationship with nature, often using domestic handcrafts of plant dyes and weaving.
Silk fabric was dyed with E.polyanthemos (Red box) leaves and after dyeing, one end of the silk was dipped into iron water to darken the colour, creating the woven stripes in the panel.
#31
Place: Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia
E.camaldulensis (River red gum) leaves were collected along Deep Creek at Lochinver, Carisbrook and dried before using. Leaves were wrapped into silk fabric and pot dyed with the dried leaves giving a soft yellow colour.
#32
Place: Stanmore, NSW, Australia
Silk fabric was coloured with leaves from E.cinerea (Silver dollar gum) sourced locally and E.pilularis (Blackbutt) growing in my street. Leaves from both species were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#33
Dyer: Pat Torres, Fitzroy Crossing, WA, Australia.
Pat is a descendant of Djugun, Yawuru, Ngumbarl, Jabirr-Jabirr, Nyul-Nyul, Bard and Karajarri peoples of the West Kimberley region of WA. She is part of the Mayi Harvest and Mamanyjun Tree Enterprises, two organisations working with nature to promote good health and well being with native produce.
The silk fabric was eco dyed with Corymbia ptychocarpa (Swamp bloodwood), a species that is endemic to the area where she lives.
#34
Place: Stanmore, NSW, Australia
Silk fabric woven into this panel was coloured in a dye pot with leaves from a local Eucalyptus (species unknown) growing as a street tree and dyed with no mordant. The resultant colour was lite and mid tan plus some soft green sections.
#35
Dyer: Living Blue, Rangpur, Bangladesh
Living Blue, a NGO producing indigo and handmade couture textiles for homewares and fashion, was established to empower and train women and men in textile crafts and as community leaders.
Silk fabric in this panel was dyed with locally sourced eucalypts, a dye source included in Living Blue’s extensive range. The plain dyed (tan) and Shibori patterned (stitched resist, lighter colour) silk fabric were coloured with local eucalypts and are from their regular production.
#36
Dyer: Living Blue, Rangpur, Bangladesh
Living Blue, a NGO producing indigo and handmade couture textiles for homewares and fashion, was established to empower and train women and men as community leaders and in textile crafts.
Silk fabric in this panel was dyed with locally sourced eucalypts as part of Living Blue’s extensive range. The plain dyed (tan) and Shibori patterned (stitched resist, lighter colour) silk fabric were coloured with local eucalypts and are from their regular production.
#37
Dyer: Annette Nykiel, Rockingham, WA, Australia
Annette, a maker, artist and researcher living on Noongar country in southwest WA, is concerned about the interdependence of ecological systems in nearby coastal wetlands, wandoo woodlands and the ancient salt lakes of the arid lands.
Silk fabric woven in this panel was coloured by solar dyeing with locally sourced, endemic eucalypts species including E.gomphocephala (Tuart), E.accedens (Powderbark wandoo) and E.rudis subsp rudis (Flooded gum) with the darker section being eco printed.
#38
Dyer: Aranya Natural, Munnar, Kerala, India
Aranya Natural is part of Srishti, a charitable trust supporting and training differently abled adults in natural dye textile crafts in Munnar, Kerala, India. They are excellent artisans producing wraps and scarves in numerous colours from traditional dyes and local, readily available plants, some which are regarded as weeds.
Aranya Natural uses leaves from either E.grandis (common name is Toolur in India and Flooded gum in Australia) and E.globulus (Blue gum) to colour fabrics for their production range. The dark coloured silk fabric woven into this panel was darken with an iron mordant while the light tan highlight was mordanted with alum.
#39
Dyer: Aranya Natural, Munnar, Kerala, India
Aranya Natural is part of Srishti, a charitable trust supporting and training differently abled adults in natural dye textile crafts in Munnar, Kerala, India. They are excellent artisans producing wraps and scarves in numerous colours from traditional dyes and local, readily available plants, some which are regarded as weeds.
Aranya Natural uses leaves from either E.grandis (common name is Toolur in India and Flooded gum in Australia) and E.globulus (Blue gum) to colour fabrics for their production range. The crepe silk in this panel was dyed with an iron mordant in an Arashi Shibori (pole wrapping) technique creating a speckled pattern when woven.
#40
Dyer: Papri Basak, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India
Papri is a textile artist and natural dye specialist whose textile studio and production house, Sadaf India, produces dyed, printed and batik designs, mostly coloured with traditional Indian natural dyes.
Locally sourced eucalypts leaves were used to dye the silk fabric in this panel. From research, eucalyptus in the Santiniketan area is a hybrid, a form of Eucalyptus tereticornis known as Mysore gum in India while the common name in Australia is Forest red gum.
#41
Dyer: Aranya Natural, Munnar, Kerala, India
Aranya Natural is part of Srishti, a charitable trust supporting and training differently abled adults in natural dye textile crafts in Munnar, Kerala, India. They are excellent artisans producing wraps and scarves in numerous colours from traditional dyes and local, readily available plants, some which are regarded as weeds.
Aranya Natural uses leaves from either E.grandis (common name is Toolur in India and Flooded gum in Australia) and E.globulus (Blue gum) to colour fabrics for their production range. The crepe silk in this panel was dyed with an iron mordant with an Arashi Shibori (pole wrapping) technique creating a speckled pattern when woven.
#42
Dyer: Diane Chungall, Bungadi Community, Fitzroy Crossing, WA, Australia
The silk was dyed with Darngardi Snappy gum bark collected on a bush medicine trip to Windjana Gorge, from trees growing on the limestone ranges in Marruwarrawarra Fitzroy River Valley. The river runs through this country into the Indian Ocean at Derby Sound.
Both colours are from Darngardi bark: the soft pink from wet season bark, the darker shade from ‘dry season when the sap is running’. The silk was tied into waterhole and spiderweb patterns and dyed overnight in Bungardi bore water (no mordant) and then sun dried and ironed.
#43
Dyer: Hassan Uz Zafar, Karachi, Pakistan
Hassan is a textile designer and educator who completed his masters at UNSW in Sydney and is now based in Toronto, Canada. He liaised with colleagues in Karachi to dye the silk fabric used in this panel with a locally sourced eucalyptus leaves.
#44
Dyer: Edric Ong, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Edric is an architect and designer who has pioneered new designs for traditional arts of Sarawak in textiles, basketry and fibre with a focus on eco textiles, silk, ikat, natural dye, backstrap loom weaving and wood blocks for hand printed scarves, stoles and wraps. All are inspired by Sarawak, its land and natural environment.
Edric used E.pellita (Large fruited red mahogany) leaves collected at a local university campus in Kuching to dye the handwoven Thai silk habotai and raw silk scarves used in this panel. Mordants used were alum and iron sulphate.
#45
Dyer: Penny Jewel, Walpole, Western Australia
With a lifetime obsession with plants, Penny explores their hidden potential for flavour, fragrance and colour with botanical dyes on textiles and paper.
Silk fabric used in this panel was dyed with E.megacarpa (Bullich) and E.diversicolour (Karri) leaves and bark, all collected on Penny’s property. The dark eco dyed pieces were mordanted with alum and coloured by tannin for eucalyptus bark.
#46
Dyer: Penny Jewel, Walpole, Western Australia
With a lifetime obsession with plants, Penny explores their hidden potential for flavour, fragrance and colour with botanical dyes on textiles and paper.
Silk fabric used in this panel was dyed with E.megacarpa (Bullich) and E.diversicolour (Karri) leaves and bark, all collected on Penny’s property. The dark eco dyed pieces were mordanted with alum and coloured by tannin for eucalyptus bark.
#47
Dyer: Kiran Farooq Khan Kakar, Lahore, Pakistan
Kiran is an academic at Beaconhouse National University in Lahore and a textile artist. Eucalyptus in the Urdu language are known as Safaida or Saifaida.
Silk fabric in this panel was dyed with fresh and dried leaves of a locally sourced but unnamed eucalypts species. Leaves and fabric were added to the dye pot and boiled for 2 hours, then left for two days for the colour to mature. Fabric was then cut into several pieces with each being post mordanted with different mordants.
#48
Dyer: Kiran Farooq Khan Kakar, Lahore, Pakistan
Kiran is an academic at Beaconhouse National University in Lahore and a textile artist. Eucalyptus in the Urdu language are known as Safaida or Saifaida.
Silk fabric in this panel was dyed with fresh and dried leaves of a locally sourced but unnamed eucalypts species. Leaves and fabric were added to the dye pot and boiled for 2 hours, then left for two days for the colour to mature. Fabric was then cut into several pieces with each being post mordanted with different mordants.
#49
Dyer: Noorjehan Bilgrami, Karachi, Pakistan
Noorjehan is an artist, curator and educationist who founded the atelier Koel, spearheaded the revival of handloom weaving, hand block printing and the use of natural dyes in Pakistan.
Silk fabric in this panel was pre mordanted with alum and then dyed with leaves from a local eucalyptus species. The gold silk colour was pre mordanted only; the tan silk was post mordanted with copper sulphate while the dark grey fabric was post mordanted with ferrous sulphate (iron).
#50
Dyer: Noorjehan Bilgrami, Karachi, Pakistan
Noorjehan is an artist, curator and educationist who founded the atelier Koel, spearheaded the revival of handloom weaving, hand block printing and the use of natural dyes in Pakistan.
Silk fabric in this panel was pre mordanted with alum and then dyed with leaves from a local eucalyptus species. The gold silk colour was pre mordanted only; the tan silk was post mordanted with copper sulphate while the dark grey fabric was post mordanted with ferrous sulphate (iron).
#51
Dyer: Puthat Ardianto, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
Puthat is a textile artist and teacher who has experience teaching eco print, natural dyeing and other techniques to women in rural communities in Java. He was introduced to me by Penny Jewel.
Dye for the silk fabric in this panel was extracted from leaves and bark from a local tree; the silk fabric was patterned with a tie dye resist technique.
#52
Dyer: Natasha Sale, Overberg, Napier, Western Cape, South Africa
Natasha is a textile artist who specializes in botanically dyed fabrics.
For this project, silk habotai fabric was dyed with locally sourced E.conferruminata (Spider gum) leaves with no mordant for the golden coloured and E.globulus (Blue gum) bark and leaves with an iron mordant for the dark brown silk.
#53
Dyer: Natasha Sale, Overberg, Napier, Western Cape, South Africa
Natasha is a textile artist who specializes in botanically dyed fabrics.
For this project, silk habotai fabric was dyed with locally sourced E.conferruminata (Spider gum) leaves with no mordant for the golden coloured and E.globulus (Blue gum) bark and leaves with an iron mordant for the dark brown silk.
#54
Dyer: Claudia Dallabona, Johannesburg, South Africa
Claudia is a geographer, botanical printer, textile artist and fashion designer who uses eco prints and natural dyes for her clothing and interior ranges.
Silk georgette fabric woven in this panel was first dyed a soft pink with E.cinerea (Silver dollar) leaves collected from a local property. The leaves were then wrapped into the silk, rolled, tied and soaked in ferrous (iron) water made with rusty nails, then steamed. The panel includes stripes of undyed silk, the soft pink silk and South African wool yarn sent in the parcel and woven with the dark patterned silk georgette fabric.
#55
Dyer: Jane Schaille, Voelkip Hermanus, South Africa
Jane is a textile artist using eco printing ‘with actual leaves, bark and river grasses, all sorts of plants, all natural plant dye with no chemicals’ alongside drawings and embroidery.
Jane eco printed three habotai silk scarves with E.cladocalyx (Sugar gum) or E.cinerea (Silver dollar) leaves, wrapped them in an iron blanket before steaming; two of the pieces were also added to a dye bath of either leaves. She noted that E.cladocalyx trees grow all over Hermanus and the Hemel-en-Aarde wine valley.
#56
Dyer: Lily Chin, Broome, Western Australia
Kimberley born Lily is a textile artist, artist, project consultant, and photographer living and working on Yawuru / Djugan country.
Lily divided the two metres of Jap silk into 8 pieces, colouring each with eco bundles and a dye pot using leaves from several different types of local eucalypts species. Each piece was uniquely patterned and all ‘made with love from the Kimberley’.
#57
Dyer: Nalda Searles, Middle Swan, Western Australia
Nalda is a visual artist, occasional curator, writer and teacher with a very individual approach to her craft practice. She has been the central instigator of an art movement based around the innovative use of Australian plant fibre, recycled textiles and found objects from the landscape.
Nalda dyed the silk fabric in this panel with E.orbifolia (Round leaf mallee) twigs and leaves ‘gathered beneath a tree that grows along a track at Elack butting not far from Mukinbudin township’. The heart shaped leaves of this species are considered to be ‘sentimental and romantic’. No mordant was used in the dye pot.
#58
Dyer: Trudi Pollard, Bedfordale, WA, Australia
Trudi is a textile artist with a long involvement with natural dyes and an interest in interpreting ancient techniques in new and innovative ways.
For this project Trudi used silk handwoven in Cambodia in a studio she set up ten years ago. Silk habotai and organza fabrics were dyed with ‘harmonising eucalyptus colours’ grown in the bush on her property including Lemon scented gum, E.cinerea, Jarrah leaves, Marri (Red gum bark).
#59
Dyer: Trudi Pollard, Bedfordale, Western Australia
Trudi is a textile artist with a long involvement with natural dyes and an interest in interpreting ancient techniques in new and innovative ways.
For this project Trudi used silk handwoven in Cambodia in a studio she set up ten years ago. Silk habotai and organza fabrics were dyed with ‘harmonising eucalyptus colours’ grown in the bush on her property including Lemon scented gum, E.cinerea, Jarrah leaves, Marri (Red gum bark).
#60
Dyer: Ira Bekker, Cape Town, South Africa
Ira is a nomadic botanical fabric artist working mostly with eco-printing, natural dyes, botanical explorations and slow-stitching and she loves working with eucalyptus. Botanical Nomad is the name of her range of naturally dyed wool yarns.
Ira eco printed two lengths of silk habotai fabric with red flowering gum pods and dyed with an iron mordant. In her area, Corymbia ficifolia is commonly known as the red flowering gum.
#61
Dyer: Ira Bekker, Cape Town, South Africa
Ira is a nomadic botanical fabric artist working mostly with eco-printing, natural dyes, botanical explorations and slow-stitching and she loves working with eucalyptus. Botanical Nomad is the name of her range of naturally dyed wool yarns.
Ira eco printed two lengths of silk habotai fabric with red flowering gum pods and dyed with an iron mordant. In her area, Corymbia ficifolia is commonly known as the red flowering gum.
#62
Dyer: Kristen McClarty, Kommetjie, Cape Town, South Africa
Kristen is a printmaker and botanical textile artist making unique designs printed on fabric with ‘naturally occurring pigments in plants, using no dye, ink or chemicals and creating no toxic waste’ – imprinting nature to create one-off wearable art and décor designs for her Inyoni range.
For this project, Kristen contributed 10 pieces of dupioni silk fabric each eco printed with leaves from either E.conferruminate (Spider gum), Corymbia calophylla, Corymbia ficifolia, E.cypellocarpa, E.gomphocephala or E.camphora. Each piece was mordanted with a homemade rust solution.
#63
Dyer: Kristen McClarty, Kommetjie, Cape Town, South Africa
Kristen is a printmaker and botanical textile artist making unique designs printed on fabric with ‘naturally occurring pigments in plants, using no dye, ink or chemicals and creating no toxic waste’ – imprinting nature to create one-off wearable art and décor designs for her Inyoni range.
For this project, Kristen contributed 10 pieces of dupioni silk fabric each eco printed with leaves from either E.conferruminate (Spider gum), Corymbia calophylla, Corymbia ficifolia, E.cypellocarpa, E.gomphocephala or E.camphora. Each piece was mordanted with a homemade rust solution.
#64
Dyer: Novi, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
Novi produces eco printed designs for her fashion and textile range, all printed on bamboo cotton cloth woven in Central Java. For this project, she collected local eucalyptus leaves for eco prints on to bamboo cotton.
#65
Dyer: Eshadi Yaddehiarachchi, Keppetipola, Sri Lanka
Eshadi is fashion designer and visual artist who recently developed an innovative weaving method incorporating waste yarn and has experimented with natural dyes for her designs.
Eshadi coloured the cotton fabric with E.robusta (Swamp mahogany) leaves sourced from a forest area near her home town where eucalyptus were planted in the 1950’s for construction timber. Iron rust was added to the dye pot as a mordant to create the soft beige tones; the panel includes the string wrapped around the parcel.
#66
Dyer: Eshadi Yaddehiarachchi, Keppetipola, Sri Lanka
Eshadi is fashion designer and visual artist who recently developed an innovative weaving method incorporating waste yarn and has experimented with natural dyes for her designs.
Eshadi coloured the cotton fabric with E.robusta (Swamp mahogany) leaves sourced from a forest area near her home town where eucalyptus were planted in the 1950’s for construction timber. Iron rust was added to the dye pot as a mordant to create the soft beige tones. The panel includes stripes of dark silk dyed in an eco bundle with E.cinerea plus iron mordant in Liz’s studio as a highlight.
#67
Place: Stanmore, NSW, Australia
E.cinerea (Silver dollar) leaves sourced locally and Eucalyptus pilularis (Blackbutt) growing in front of my house were used to colour the silk fabric in this panel. Leaves from both species were wrapped into silk fabric eco bundles and steamed.
#68
Dyer: Claudia Dallabona, Johannesburg, South Africa
Claudia is a geographer, botanical printer, textile artist and fashion designer who uses eco prints and natural dyes for her clothing and interior ranges.
Silk georgette fabric was first dyed a soft pink with E.cinerea (Silver dollar) leaves collected from a local property; the leaves were then wrapped into the silk, rolled, tied and soaked in ferrous (iron) water made with rusty nails, then steamed. The resultant silk georgette is patterned in a range of dark greys.
#69
Dyer: Lily Chin, Broome, Western Australia
Kimberley born Lily is a textile artist, artist, project consultant, and photographer living and working on Yawuru / Djugan country.
Lily divided the two metres of Jap silk into 8 pieces, colouring each with eco bundles and a dye pot using leaves from several different types of local eucalypts species. Each piece was uniquely patterned and all ‘made with love from the Kimberley’.
#70
Dyer: Diane Chungall, Bungadi, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia
The silk was dyed with Darngardi Snappy Gum bark collected on a bush medicine trip to Windjana Gorge, from trees growing on the limestone ranges in Marruwarrawarra Fitzroy River Valley. The river runs through country into the Indian Ocean at Derby Sound.
Both colours are from Darngardi bark: the soft pink from wet season bark, the darker shade from ‘dry season when the sap is running’. The silk was tied into waterhole and spiderweb patterns and dyed overnight in Bungardi bore water (no mordant) and then sun dried and ironed.
Liz Williamson, Weaving Eucalypts Project (70 panels) (detail), 2020-2021, silk dyed by artists in Australia, India and Bangladesh with locally sourced eucalyptus leaves, bark or twigs; silk hand woven as weft into a linen and cotton warp, dimensions variable
