Flora
Botanical Writing
Apple Juice in the Darkroom
The process of photo developing has always seemed intriguing - shots in films revealing the transformation of a blank page to an image upon submersion in a mysterious liquid… how does this magic come about?
I took a workshop on non-toxic photo developing wherein you can use plant material + vitamin c + washing soda as your developer liquid!
The Belladonna Mask
Dark and mysterious, the inspiration behind this mask is a beautiful and poisonous plant Belladonna, with jewel-like glistening berries, and purple bell shaped flowers. Belladonna is highly toxic, yet in small and properly administered dosages, can be healing. There is something so captivating about her duality to heal and to kill.
“Dosis sola facit venenum”; the dose makes the poison.
Swimming in Indigo
Inky blue with depth and complexity, a funky smell of fermentation and life; indigo is an alluring dye for many reasons. The colour is so alive and yet it is a rarity; finding a source of blue in nature is not very common. The two famous sources of blue are indigo and woad - its European counterpart. Unlike other natural dyes which require a mordant (something to help colour adhere to the fibres), once the fabric is cleaned, it is ready to go into an indigo dye vat for repeated dips until the desired colour is achieved…
Plants as Portals
Allies of the wise women and people of olde
Plants have their own unique energetics, personalities and preferences
Not human-like
Yet animate and sentient
Experimental Cyanotypes
Cyanotypes are a form of solar photography known for their incredible rich blue hues, and they offer a whole world to explore. All you need is two chemicals, mixed up in equal percent, and then you’re set to make a cyanotype from a photograph or an object, and the surface onto which you print is limitless…
D* Cold: Papermaking in Japan
Although I’m born and raised Canadian… I don’t fare so well in the cold. At the first whisper of cold, I’m bundled up to the nine, meanwhile high schoolers are still pretending to be fine, wearing t-shirts and hunching their shoulders against the wind.
Making traditional Japanese paper (washi) is physically involved and sometimes uncomfortable, however learning about Japanese paper making was hugely rewarding…
Zines
An offering;
Crochet a coaster, a decoration for a bag, or a a stool cushion from this crochet flower pattern!
Great for practicing an array of foundational crochet stitches, this flower is made by crocheting a circle with single crochets, and then it’s petals are made from half double, double, treble and slip stitches.