Plants Worth Dyeing For : Backyard Chemistry for Natural Dyers

Art and science truly came together in Helen Colemans' incredible artist talk. Using natural materials Helens' research is thorough and applicable to artists, dyers, textile designers and lovers of art and environment at large. 

We learnt about tannin dyes and went in depth on the potentials for Marri gum as a dye for sustainable Australian fashion.

The talk was hands on, two volunteers were called upon to assist with the mixing. Big thank you to Helen for so generously sharing her vast knowledge. 

 

As public awareness of the environmental cost of global fast fashion increases, there is growing consumer support for sustainable, renewable and biodegradable alternatives to synthetic dyes. Embracing this change, Australian artists and textile designers are exploring natural colourants from our biodiverse flora - but developing new lightfast, washfast colours that meet the demands of today’s consumers is a huge challenge – and chemistry can help!

Using basic equipment and nontoxic mordants, Helen will show you how to test a variety of plants for their dye potential and explain why some botanical pigments are better than others for long-lasting colour. She will take you into the exciting world of dyeing with tannin, an abundant component of our local plants and share her research into natural dyes from Corymbia calophylla kino, commonly known as Marri gum. This presentation shows the potential of natural dyes to be part of a sustainable Australian fashion industry, with a takeaway invitation to consider making room for science in the art studio.

Artist Helen Coleman, PhD Candidate, Curtin University