Mid-Term Making Progress

Mid-term critique has officially come and gone and I have so much to share! To refresh your memory, I’m working on a collection of yoga and meditation props that will be block printed with botanical imagery in natural dyes. These products are designed to help people connect meaningfully with plants and the natural world by directing the mindfulness cultivated in yoga and meditation practices towards our relationships with the land. With the central mission of improving human and ecological health and wellbeing, my research and making processes will explore plant medicine, the mental and physical health benefits of connecting with nature, environmentally respectful making practices, and how we can foster a reciprocal relationship with the natural world.

Before I started to work with imagery, I designed and sewed product prototypes to establish the forms that the imagery would reside on. I knew that the forms should be simple to really showcase the textile’s surface and they turned out exactly how I imagined them. The eye pillow is sewn from leftover madder-dyed hemp/silk and filled with flax seeds (the final will also include dried lavender). The yoga bag is sewn from muslin and fully lined with plenty of pockets. The meditation cushion is also sewn from muslin and features a handle and pocket.

Yoga and Meditation Prop Prototypes. Upper Left: Eye Pillow, Lower Left: Meditation Cushion, Right: Yoga Bag.

My next step was to create a mood board. I scoured Pinterest, sifted through travel albums, and snapped photos of my favourite tarot deck and book of poems. I’m in love with the result! This board really captures the vibe that I want my pieces to have and I’ve posted it right in front of my desk for inspiration

Mood Board

Initially, my mid-term goal was to create a collection of printed textile samples using a wide variety of natural dye techniques but I realized very quickly how unrealistic that was for the mid-term time frame. Instead, I adjusted that goal and carved a collection of lino printing blocks to use for my future printed samples. I created most of the motifs as a two-colour print, requiring two blocks: one line-work and one fill as you can see in the photo below.

Carved Lino Printing Blocks Mounted on Wood. Left: Indigo, Upper Middle: Marigold, Upper Right: Nettle, Middle Left: Chamomile, Middle Right: Lavender, Bottom Middle: Hand, Lower Right: Weld.

The plants that I chose to depict are either dye-plants, medicinal plants, or in most cases both. The only non-botanical block that I created is an outstretched hand. I wanted to experiment with depicting a human form among plant forms, so we will see how that evolves as my patters develop. To test the blocks and begin experimenting with arrangement, I created a test print by sponging acrylic craft paint onto the blocks and stamping them on paper.

Test Print of Carved Blocks Using Acrylic Craft Paint on Paper

Next steps for me include surface design development and printing technique exploration. By the end of this semester, I should have a substantial collection of printed samples, which I’m super excited to start working on! As for the surface designs, I’m interested in further exploring the medicinal/therapeutic properties of the plants I’m depicting and somehow working that into the design. I think I might group them by their overall properties like stress-easers or antioxidants for example, and create separate designs for each. In general, I feel that I need to explore the plants further, get to know them better, and I’m sure they will lead me to the answers. They always do.