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Please enjoy a look into the silk dying process. Silk is dyed using plants I grow or collect. Some flowers I source from local farmers or from sustainable traditional natural dye suppliers. The dyestuff is simmered in a pot to extract the color. I add the fibers once a saturated color has been extracted. When I like the color of the silk, I take it out of the water, rinse it and let it dry. Sometimes I have ideas already of what I want to print on the silk, but other times, I let the color of the finished silk inform the motif.
While the silk is drying, I draw onto the linoleum and then carve with my tools. Linoleum blocks are a softer choice versus using blocks of wood. (aka wood block carving which is more commonly known)..during “the reveal” I take a closer look at the print. It is a carving of a butterfly bush which I will print onto a piece of hand dyed silk. I print everything by hand one by one. The last image shows each stage of the printing process from the original drawing of the motif, the block I carved and the hand dyed silk that has been printed with the motif. After motif is printed onto the scarf I let it cure which takes some time. Then I iron, trim and pick the right thread for hemming.
Final photo of a custom 21×21 neckerchief.
To see more of my work visit my Spectrum Online store page.
–Mallorey Caron