BACK TO NATURE
Natural Paints Workshop
What a lovely way to spend a warm summer’s evening! I was invited by Asia, of Back to Nature, to speak to a women’s group at their Vallis Veg site, situated on a hillside in gently rolling countryside, near Frome in Somerset. As I stepped out of the car the immersive effect of the surrounding trees and grasses was immediately welcoming.
I'd been asked to talk about the natural colours that can be extracted from plants and made into paints; something that I do regularly on my Elka Textiles workshops. The group was made up of twelve women and the organisers, and we started the session sitting around a fire pit with a cup of tea and sharing our positive moments of the week.
We then moved into a large, airy polytunnel for the workshop where, with only an hour and a half in hand, I focused on the magical process of transforming plant dye into pigment.
The participants then went off into the beautiful surrounding gardens, with a piece of white card and a paper bag, to gather plants that would yield up some colour when rubbed onto the card.
They came back with an amazing collection!
The session ended with some painting, using a selection of natural, plant-based water colour paints that I’d brought along with me.
It was an absolute pleasure to be part of this lovely group, and I hope they enjoyed the evening as much as I did. Thank you Asia!
