As mentioned yesterday, there are many, many steps in getting to this point and I feel we haven’t even started yet.
1 – Watch (and watch, and watch again) a bunch of demo videos about ethical harvesting materials, choosing storage containers, cutting materials into sample bundles, making mordants, and on and on…
2 – Collecting the plants for our natural… well, I’m not sure what yet: dyes, mordants, something…
2 – Drying plants, setting up work spaces (and running all over the place to buy pots, jars, etc…)
3 – Making Mordants (what the heck is a mordant?!? As far as I understand so far is they help the natural dyes stay fast to the fabrics we will eventually be using… and storing the dried plants.
I’ve so far been spending almost two weeks cutting, spooling, foraging, bundling and drying, unbundling and caring, simmering, and other things I don’t normally do…
When I started this class, I wasn’t afraid I’d dislike it… quite the opposite; I am fascinated by this process, especially the use of natural materials, but I just don’t have the time right now to get obsessed by another medium.
So, I’ll do my best and play as much as possible with the knowledge that I can only do so much.
What and I going to do about the challenges I feel I have in learning material explorations through a digital platform, instead of through a hands-on one??? I’ll do my best.
The New Renaissance Mindset 