Thursday, July 23, 2009

more from the green gala- these ones by david gilbert

OCELOT: hand dyed using itajime shibori technique in San Francisco
Jonathan David Baker's multi-directionally pleated dress made with seaweed and organic cotton, tux jacket made with recycled nylon and recycled tire rubber
TINC: designed by Savannah Knoop made with sea weed and wood pulp, peace silk, and organic cotton canvas
ashley helvey's d felted organic wool dress from a predator friendly farm
the moon: lace pillow lava dress: vintage slip, lace bits, silk and cotton handkerchiefs, napkins and doilies. annatto dyed silk shirts over dyed with black walnut hull
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painting with plant & earth pigments

gorgeous indigo paints. the lighter circles were tinted with titanium dioxide
adding yellow ochre to the dragon's blood
madder
our materials
the muller- "if it's not mulled, it's not paint"

Last night was part 2 of a 3 part course i hosted at the uc botanical garden at berkeley. judi pettite, a local painter who uses only natural pigments, was our teacher. we experimented with reds, oranges blues and greens using plants such as : madder, dragon's blood (a resin from a number of trees), goldenrod, cosmos, woad, indido. we also used the precious lapis lazuli and ochre- a natural earth pigment. mixing these pigments with gum arabic and grinding them with a muller we made paints. it was such a satisfying and beautiful process.