the need to know

unless you know what it is, it's legal and it isn't going to make you sick.

during a class last week at the Beautiful Silks Botanical Studio somebody asked the question

"what does oleander do?"

which reminded me that when i pootled across the ranges to Rockford in the Barossa Valley earlier in the month to pick up bottles of assorted nectars (with which to enhance the lunches at Mansfield) i drove past a group of young gentlemen assiduously stripping flowers from a huge Oleander (Nerium oleander). it occurred to me about a 100 metres later that they had bare hands. 

so i did the grandmotherly thing, made a u-turn and went back. 

poor things, they thought i'd come to give them a talking-to for stealing flowers. not so. but i DID give them a talking-to about health and safety.

they had no idea of the name of the plant, or that it was poisonous.

so i told them. 

i also suggested they would want to wash their hands before consuming their next meal (or rubbing their eyes)

their plan was to scatter the flowers at a wedding...but if i were the bride i wouldn't want bushels of  toxic plant matter tossed at me.

i'd also be concerned about small children picking up the flowers and putting them in their mouths. as small children so often do.

i tell my students time and time again "identify the plant, at very least by genus, before gathering". because it's just common sense.

somebody told me in the USA years ago how she and a friend had been hospitalized with anaphylaxis after lifting the lid on a pot full of boiling poison ivy. the genus name Toxicodendron tells me to stay well away from that one. i was so stunned by the story that

i completely forgot to ask "and what colour did it dye?"

so what DOES oleander do? i have no idea. and i don't plan to put it in a dyepot because even the smoke from burning oleander is poisonous.

while i'm on the subject

there have been a spate of images of "ecoprints" from castor oil plant leaves floating about the internet. call me old Mrs Unadventurous if you like, but i would be a bit nervous about bundling leaves from the plant whose derivative was used to kill Georgi Markov. admittedly using it in a dye bundle may not get the stuff into your bloodstream (which is where it is most effective) but there's very little research about the effects of inhaling steam from boiling such bundles.

once cloth is rinsed and dried it won't be a longterm poisoning device (unless you were to soak it in a poison before offering it for use, not a pleasant thought).

so given about 80% of ornamentals in suburban gardens are poisonous in one way or another, i recommend caution.

simple errors like confusing colchicums for crocus and hemlock for angelica have led to tears before bedtime in the past.

i'm not scare-mongering, i just think it's important to know what you're dealing with.

one of the reasons that green became the colour of bad luck in the theatre was that actors who regularly wore green costumes became sick and eventually died...if the colour green in the cloth was dependent on the presence of orpiment (arsenic trisulphide)

they may not have known why, just that you became ill if you wore green.

but that's another story.

ps thank you everybody who offered a word (or two) in response to the previous post...i'll be working with those words and shall hope to find them some friends soon

eco, schmeco...ranting about plastic, rust and other things

i'm beginning to wish i hadn't given the name 'ecoprint' to the contact print that results when eucalyptus leaves are heated together with cloth in a damp environment.

since i first observed the phenomenon back in the early nineties the word 'ecoprint' has been adopted by countless commercial printing houses

and these days it seems everything is 'eco'

what concerns me too is that the method i've been teaching [which does not employ synthesized adjunct mordants] has been adopted by others who seem to be less concerned than i am about environmental concerns and student safety

if you teach, you have a duty of care

the bottom line is : printing with leaves using toxic adjunct mordants and layers of plastic is not environmentally sustainable*

and students participating in classes where fabrics pre-mordanted with Ferrous sulphate and layered with plastics for "clear leaf prints" may like to consider that as these bundles are heated, the vapours given off comprise a toxic cocktail of polyethylphthalates as well as the poisonous mordant in combination with whatever plant matter is being used. it is to be hoped that the latter has been identified and that toxic plants are being avoided but either way...you're breathing it in. i worry too about those teaching these methods...  Ferrous sulphate is a cumulative poison.

not all eucalypts are safe to use either...some contain cyanatogens, others offer small quantities of arsenic and E. nitens has been implicated as a possible carcinogen

remember that if you can smell something, you are breathing it in...and that the surface area of your lungs [if they were opened out] allegedly approximates that of a tennis court

i know that microscopic amounts are used to treat anaemia but overexposure to Ferrous sulphate can cause 

irritation eyes, skin, mucous membrane; abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting; possible liver damage 

is it worth it?

i use found iron as co-mordant to achieve dark colours. archaeological evidence supports this. time and again you'll read in texts about discoveries that cloth found in proximity to metal in the absence of oxygen was best preserved. whereas traditional plant dye advice was always to be cautious about using Ferrous sulphate  as it makes cloth brittle

iron soaked in an acid solution [vinegar, fermented fruit waste or an exhausted leaf-based dye bath] makes a safe mordant for dark colours

the current craze for rust has me worried too. rust particles are sharp and if breathed in, can cause bleeding of the alveoli [those little things in your lungs that take up oxygen]. be careful with it. and avoid wearing cloth that has been 'rust printed'. remember that your skin is your biggest and most absorptive organ

do your homework, make sure you are well informed and stay safe. 

and if you want clear leaf prints, put recycled paper between the layers. you'll have the bonus of making something gorgeous to write on.

* yes i am aware that my extensive travel is not sustainable. that's why i plant trees. lots of trees.

night flight to lost angeles

about the lost one

muttering and fondling the crystal ball

i've been roaming the whirled and teaching many many classes since the publication of Eco Colour [2008] and Second Skin [2011], the two books into which i poured my dye knowledge so that

+ folks out in the whirled could make fabulous colour without the need for toxic chemical mordants

+ the techniques wouldn't get lost and so that in the event my children [or who knows, potential grand-children] ever wanted to know what Mumsie was brewing out the in the shed they could look it up

+ there'd be some kind of record that, although i didn't rush out and patent the ecoprint [something many people have since told me i should have done], it was actually me who realised that when Latvian Easter Egg Dyeing techniques were married with Shibori-zome and blessed by eucalyptus then extraordinary magic would happen.

musing on life in this crossover limbo time sliding between one calendar and the next,  i'm beginning to wonder. foremost in my mind is that you can't have a dog and keep wandering like a fly in a bottle...and i am very much missing the daily delightful companionship of a dogfriend [thank you all those kind folk who let me have dog therapy with their friends last year, especially that lovely chap in Washington Square, San Francisco who let me spend time with his two polar bears who were pretending to be Maremma's]

doing my 2011-12 tax [a little late] on New Year's Eve the numbers were scarily clear. there i am rushing around the whirled, disseminating techniques that took me years to develop but there's not that much over after paying bills. it may sound glamorous and it can be wonderfully satisfying but in the end it's also really, really exhausting. [even though i've never had jet-lag]

 i try to distribute transport expenses by setting a flat fee whirled-wide but despite this very often when i am asked to teach a class somebody will want to haggle about the cost.

 a person in Alaska actually had the audacity to suggest that i consider a teaching gig there as a holiday.

what?

on which planet does that make sense? how is it a holiday if i am working? how will it benefit me to pay $4000 in airfares from Australia plus accommodation plus plus plus. oh yes, i forgot, it will be a holiday. thanks so much.

to cut a long story short, i'm letting y'all know that while workshops have been planned for 2013, there may not be so many in 2014.  there'll be a West Coast series [Washington, Oregon, California] in the northern fall this year [2013] and a gig in Vancouver, Canada 

none of which is listed on the website yet

but

other than the yet-to-be-posted West Coast Wandering, what's on the workshop page is IT for now.

if you would like to learn something from me in the Southern Hemisphere there are only three options available. one in West Australia in April and the other two in New Zealand [one on each island] in a few weeks time.

the workshop in the South Island will be held at the Keylock family property in the Lud Valley. we might even manage an excursion to Cable Bay [the scene of our wonderful "wade in the water" session the year we made reconstructed garments and immersed them in the sea prior to dyeing]

we'll be making a wayfarer's wanderbook. stitching a beautiful wrapping cloth. dyeing paper and fabrics. telling stories, doing a bit of writing - penning poems as well as prose. we'll be paying close attention to a very beautiful part of the whirled - enjoying nourishment for the spirit together with very practical dye techniques.

if the prospect of five days doing this interests you, do please drop Judy Keylock a line here  

     judykeylock[at]mac[dot]com

or give her a tinkle on +64 [0]3 545 2176 as there are a couple of places left in the class

if you made it to the bottom of the page, thanks for hanging in there.

and have a fabulous year.

more thoughts on careering wildly

thank you everybody for your contributions to the discussion in the previous post. I hope the Lamb has found information of use there and let me say it was never my intent to be callous, sarcastic or hurtful in my answers, merely as honest as i could be.

it occurred to me that i should have included more in my answer. eg that my income is not derived entirely from simply colouring cloth
but from a number of sources

it is important to distribute the eggs between several baskets
in case you trip up
in my case it means writing books and articles [most of these don't pay, Handeye bless them, DO]
making costumes for dance
teaching classes in dyeing cloth/paper , felt-making, stitch, garment re-construction, pieced cloth
or various combinations
taking the odd dress commission [but only from people i feel empathy with, otherwise it's too hard for me to make something that will work]
and in between finding time to 

i do teach a lot.
teaching is the main source of keeping body and soul together.
to keep the teaching fresh
no class is ever exactly repeated
the topic may be similar
but there will always be something [at least] a little different
otherwise
i might speedily find myself confined to social nutworking in a secure facility
luckily
the kind of work i do
seems to attract interesting people
with whom it is a pleasure to spend time
and
plants and water are different around the whirled
which means there is always something new for me to learn as well

i noted among the comments to the earlier post
mention of health insurance, long service leave etc.
these benefits do not attach to this particular sole practitioner
on the other hand
i don't have to ask for permission
if i suddenly decide that pouring walnut dye onto a piece of organic cotton canvas in a motel carpark on the California coast is the best way to spend that particular morning

i noted also that one contributor mentioned she had found her soulmate early on and that the soulmate made it possible for her to chase her dreams
she's one of the Lucky Ones
i've met quite a few folk whose Significant Other is happy to be a Patron of the Arts.
guess the other option is to chain your soul to an educational institution in the hope of the security of tenure
but then
you also have to do the Devil's Work
administration / marking / constant justification of you being there / sucking up to people you might not otherwise want to give the time of day

as a friend of mine [who sadly drank himself to death in his 39th year*]
once said
"life is a rich tapestry
of loose ends"

*Christine's comment to the earlier post about a life on anti-depressants strikes firmly home here

by request

firstly this is for Samm cos she asked how the flotsam dress worked [see previous post]
hope the scribbles make sense, adjust sizes of bits to fit own body
[hint - measuring with a piece of string much better than using a tape-measure]


and then in answer to another request which arrived as follows [published with original spelling but name removed] :

...I am about to graduate from college and I was hoping that I could email you a few questions because I am really interesting in your chosen occupation and want to know what to expect...

 to which i initially responded :

To be honest I never had a career plan other than architecture but shall do best to answer queries as long as you don't expect an essay! 

I'm curious about the phrase "what to expect". I have few expectations and so find that I go through life being pleasantly surprised. 

and then came the reply [my answers are in green]

I was just wondering about simple questions like what do you do on a typical day at work. Do you find the work repetitive or is it different every day. it is different every day. thank goodness.  

How long does it take you to die [um i'm hoping you mean "dye"] the material [oh thank goodness, you were referring to cloth. i'm not ready for the other yet] and then begin designing your clothing? i make the object first and then dye it. it could take a couple of days, or six months or a year  

What kind of work can I do beforehand to be successful at finding sustainable plant dyes and making clothing designs? be curious about everything. it helps if you treat it as play rather than work 

Would you recommend any type of classes or something that will make a person ready to start creating dyes besides reading your book? yes, mine. or Tracy Willans'. or Roz Hawker's. or Nalda Searles'. 

Do you plan out your own designs before you begin with the dye or is it purely experimental? depends on the project  

What kind of salary do you make if you are just beginning in your field. wondering if this question is a joke. i have never had a salary in this field. even now after over twenty-five years professional experience i barely end up with a profit. but i have enough and that is all that matters 

Is there anything really good or bad about your job that persuaded you to start besides being really good for the environment? i didn't choose my field of work just for the environment. i do this because i cannot "not" do it. it's called a passion. if you don't have it, don't do it. that goes for anything.  

Do you have any advice for people that want to follow in your footsteps? see previous answer. and it's better to make your own footsteps [people walk at different rhythms. try walking in someone's footprints on the beach sometime. can be tricky.] 

 Is there a lot of demand in what you do or is it very difficult to start? it takes 100% of me and then some. that's what makes it fun.

learning and discovering with Martha

i'm doing my tax.*
finally.
Martha is helping.

i'm discovering a lot of things
in the large cardboard carton full of receipts that has prime position in the middle of my room

+ 3 lost postcards acquired at the V&A last year
+ a missing sock [luckily not one of my woollies, the moths would have eaten it]
+ a cone of cream-coloured wool [the moths DID find that]
+ 2 purse-sized Aesop sample packs [yum]
+ a quarter [the American kind]
+ several [well, understatement] dried leaves of assorted provenance
+ some pictures of lovely dresses torn from a magazine
+ a handful of my favourite #5 stitching thread
+ quite a few sewing needles [stuck into various receipts] including my nice Japanese one
and as a bonus from the Dogs Above, $200 in cash tucked into one of those foldy baggie thingies that are such a delight to make
oh
and as an extra bonus, the journal from the West Coast trip that The Precious and i took on the way home in 2010 [i'd been searching for that!]

so virtue is being rather rewarding

still, it's sobering, once the figures are stacked up, to realise that after travel expenses my earnings are less than those of the cleaner at the Mount Pleasant Hospital

on the other hand
i know who's having more fun...

so i had better stop procrastinating. and get back to it.



*sorry there's no embeddable code for this video, but it's WELL worth watching.