March General Meeting Saturday, 25 March 2023
To complement the exhibition Colours from the Wild, we will have a talk from Athena Harris Ingall.
Athena works out of her studio on Lake Macquarie in New South Wales. At age seven, Athena’s grandfather showed her the beautiful prints achieved by leaving a pair of discarded leather riding gaiters and a canvas water bag covered with eucalyptus leaves under old steel and water pipes.
She uses eco-printing and botanical dying techniques to mark natural and often vintage or recycled fibres, working mainly with rust water, eucalyptus leaves, bark and gumnuts and fruits, and often incorporates shibori techniques into her pieces.
Athena’s aesthetic is informed by her love of the environment and the beauty and meaning found in compositions made from ordinary, simple things from everyday life, and particularly, imperfect, impermanent materials.
Athena will talk about her work and the techniques she uses including shibori.
Picture of mandorla Prize Entry – Eco dye and shibori
Before the talk, Athena will conduct a mini workshop at 11:00am on Eco printing.
Athena will demonstrate eco-printing directly onto the paper and also printing on silk which can be cut up and glued of stitched onto paper or cardboard to make cards.
It’s a simple technique using either a “dirty” pot (with rust water) or a pot of vinegar, water and onions skins. We will either be rolling the paper we are printing on or clamping the paper. I will work with bark, Eucalyptus Cinerea (silver dollar) and rose leaves.
To follow me, participants need is some “heavy” paper to print on, the leaves mentioned above, scissors, string or old elastic or elastic bands to tie up their bundle, vinegar, water and onion skins, an old larger pot (an old larger aluminium pot is ideal but any old pot not to used for cooking is okay) to boil the bundle for 2 hours.
Colours from the Wild
Naturally dyed textiles sale and exhibition of work
The dyes are made from natural ingredients and are sometimes decorated with objects such as leaves which produce their own colour. There will be scarves, yarn, garments and accessories.
We welcome all to the exhibition, then visit the stunning textile supplies shop fill with yarn from all types of sources, including wool, and silk alpaca, to name a few, together with the member’s gallery, which features handmade items which members create for sale. You can also source fibre for felting and spinning.
Then you can wander through the house and take the view from the balconies.
The exhibition and sale is on Thursday, 16 March to Saturday, 1 April.
When: Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10.00am-4.00pm
Where: Brush Farm House, 19 Lawson Street, Eastwood NSW 2122
