eco art 1

i had the privilege of attending a 2-day workshop in hobart with artist trace willans last weekend

we learned how to use only natural materials to do art – no more chemicals and nasty side-effects for artists or the environment

we added background textures to a variety of papers and fabrics with mixtures you can make yourself:  plaster of paris, rabbit skin glue (for layering), flour and starch pastes, homemade gesso, and xanthorrhoea (plant-based shellac)

i also added stitch to some items for texture (see photos, above and below)

after that, we selected and prepared some of the items for natural dyeing (onion skins, brown or red, and wild cherry) and painting (using earth pigments, milk and egg)

another technique was to use an egg yolk mixture to help the natural dyes colour non-protein substrates such as paper or cotton (above photo, lower right)

we then learned how to make our own paints from earth pigments, and how to prepare and mix wax and add colour (cold wax and encaustic techniques)

these were applied over the backgrounds we had made earlier

some of the prepared backgrounds went into the dye pots, as shown below; we also  included egg yolk, leaves and sliced avocado seeds to add colour and texture to fabrics (items shown at right and centre of photo)

next post – adding more stitch to complete the artworks …