Saturday 4 July 2009

***NATURAL DYES***

Annie Sherburne presents

***NATURAL DYES***

The 4th exhibition in a series of 12 informal monthly exhibitions looking at strategies of environmentally friendly textile and fashion design.

Unit 1:10 OXO Tower Wharf
Bargehouse Street
London SE1 9PH

What do natural dye colours look like? Can you use natural dyes easily it at home? What are the environmental implications for using natural dyes? How do they compare to synthetic chemical dyes? Can natural dyes be used in mass production? Where can you get natural dyes?

Come and see examples of indigo, madder, weld, cochineal, lac, and many other colours, and find out about the natural alchemy of roots, leaves and resins which create a different palette for textile designers to use.

We will be offering a selection of dyes, mordants and seeds to start your own dyers gardens.

A fabulous explanation of natural dying can be found at the following web site too:
http://itdg.org/docs/technical_information_service/dyeing_textiles.pdf



We thoroughly look forward to seeing you at NATURAL DYES!

anniesherburneoxoshop@live.co.uk
http://backoftheshopgallery.blogspot.com/

***TOOLS***

The 3rd exhibition in a series of 12 informal monthly exhibitions looked at strategies of environmentally friendly textile and fashion design.

here is the write up from the exhibition ....

This exhibition will focus on hand tools. The show includes some of the previous months creative recycling exhibition, featuring Kate Langmuir's recycled products, and introducing Patrick Reid’s recycled oriental rugs.

A tool is an extension of the person who uses it. It is the magical means by which we create something that is our own. Skills were, and still are, handed on from generation to generation, in cultures where they are the means of making a living. In the west, children are no longer taught textile skills as a matter of course.

The resurgence of knitting is as much to do with a radical act of befriending others as to do with making a garment. Strangers meet on the circle line at appointed times to knit together, and they become friends.

Here we look at rug tools, crochet hooks, kntting needles, and even the humble darning needle.
On Wednesdays, if you come and buy a rug kit, Annie will show you how to hook your own rugs!

Life has JOY
when
We make something special
We love the experience of making
We love to share our knowledge
We preserve our skills
We hand them on.

A musician cannot make music without an instrument, and without practising.
In many ways, the tools we use to make textiles are like very slow forms of music, and the pieces that we create are played and used in the future, in the same way that Mendlesohn's music is enjoyed 200 years after it was written.

The tools used in the creative process are often forgotten when the work is completed. Whilst working with your favourite tools they begin to become an extension of yourself and enable you to achieve successes in your design process. This exhibition will focus on the importance of tools within the design process.
If you are interested in a rug making class, please contact Annie
on sherburne@btopenworld.com