New Possibilities | HandEye. Extiles have been an integral part of helping children create possibilities for change. Trauma, often emotionally experienced, settles equally and quietly into the body. Ultimately, creating more suffering for the child's relationship with Self and with others. In this small Toronto studio, children have been participating in many different kinds of therapeutic experiences. The children who come here, have been successful in working through many difficulties in their lives. Part of their experience in healing the trauma that affects their body is with music, movement and textiles.
These three essential elements have been front and center, offering children a chance to release the deepest aspects of trauma and re- experience themselves as whole and worthy. When the studio opens, a young girl arrives. Walking through the inner door of the studio, we begin every session with a silence that naturally occurs for Vayla. As time goes on the cloth no longer stays in the hands of the child. Eucalyptus. From Carol Todd Rowland @rainbowlight.org Description Silver-Dollar Eucalyptus, also called Silver-Dollar Gum, is most readily indentified by its round juvenille leaves which are gray-green in color and are attached to the branches by a stem. (Some of the other Eucalypts have the leaves attached directly to the branches.)
The mature leaves lose their round shape and become more lance-like. There are many kinds of Eucalyptus trees, and all the ones I have seen have a distinguishing pungent odor when their leaves are crushed. Their seed capsules vary in size from peasize to 3" in diameter, but they all have a similar bell-like shape. Comments The best color is said to come from the round juvenille leaves of this species.
Leaves can be used fresh or dried, but I seem to get the best color from the dried leaves. INGREDIENTS 24 ounces dried leaves 4 ounces wool, some mordanted and some unmordanted 4 quarts water METHOD 1) Cover leaves with water. Here's a Recipe using Fermented Leaves. Prophet of bloom. Turkey Red Journal. INDIA FLINT WORKSHOP « make something. A couple weeks ago, I had the honour of joining a week long workshop at the Contemporary Textile Studio Co-op with Australian textile artist, India Flint. India is world renowned for the magic she has created with natural dyes and her unique approach to imparting colour and foliage prints to textiles and paper.
Since taking our natural dyeing class last year, I’ve been wanting to do more, (I think about it all the time!) But somehow haven’t gotten around to it. Silly how that happens. The opportunity to spend a whole week playing with plants and fabric with India at the helm was just perfect. We spent our days learning India’s gentle ways of collecting nature materials from florist or grocer garbage (with permission), going on windfall walks (collecting only what has fallen on the ground and not harvesting), learning about local weeds (plants that are in excess for picking) and looking in our own backyards.
India’s approach to dyeing was very freeing.