Margaret River Region Open Studios (MRROS)

With so much talent on display in the Margaret River region during Open Studios it is easy to see why the event attracts so many visitors. This year is certainly no exception.

Throughout the 16 day event visitors are invited into artists private studios to meet the artist and view their works. This year, the 107 artists have works on display that include painting, sculptors, textiles, printmakers, ceramicists, jewellers, photographers and up-cycling. Some even manage to find time to hold workshops.

One such artists is Jane Flower from Folios and Fibre, a textile artists who uses eco dyeing to create beautiful one of a kind scarves, handmade garments and other mixed media pieces. Jane generously shared her knowledge with us during an informal workshop, allowing us to create these beautiful pieces of eco dyed silk.

Using the Shibori resist dyeing technique our pieces where prepared using various resists.

The silk is then added to the bubbling eco dyepot. Eucalyptus and various other leaves are boiled to extract the natural dyes and tannins before adding the silk. This process means that no two dye lots will ever be the same; it can yield some lovely and unexpected surprises.

After a time brewing in the dyepot we removed our pieces and allowed them to cool before we could handle them.

And now time for the great reveal.  Here are just a few of our creations.

After drying to allow the dye to set my pieces are now washed and ready for me to find a creative way to use them…..I will let you know the outcome.

You can see Jane’s beautiful work by clicking here.