My surroundings evoke belonging and awakens the need to make create and collaborate with nature. Sand dunes are clearer on a fresh winters day, Raumati smells are soft as the macrocarpa trees over the inlet stream.

The Kapiti garden we keep is filled with plants and flowers that end up on my sashiko stitched designs. The range of colours to be captured on camera and cloth through each season are a constant challenge to my eye.

Novembers weather has unexpectedly heated up by several degrees.  I’ve cleaned out and re organised my studio to welcome it. I collected so many beautiful leaves to dip and process prints onto cloth. Workshop time is near.

Treaures galore came to the surface and time to think about new year workshops and short courses for January February  2018

• Eco dyes
• Nuno felt
• Cut paper stencil
• stitch on cloth
• Shibori and indigo

Im currently working on a new show called Moving Continents at Mahara Gallery in Waikanae. So will be in full studio swing till 15 January getting new works ready for 20th January opening day.

Dali in China was inspirational with full colour ranges through spring and summer 2017. Now back in NZ reliving spring blooms, my concepts relate back to thoughts of migration through air, water, earth and firey tones.

How materials and colours change in keeping with our environments.

Water and air particularly free my imagination up when travelling.  

Raumati tones by the beach and Wharemauku river head.

So these are the dates if you want to register:

Eco textiles: 23-27 January

Paint, natural dyes, print, cut stencil, stitch,  fabricate..build install.

Cost is subsidised this time only

by KCDC as works go towards a celebration on 11 February mapping your journey and thereafter back to the owners.

$40 for 4 days.

$20 for 2 days.

$30 extra for indigo dye kit or byo.

All equipment provided.

Group and individual activities. We are working with Jui Pin Chang a Taiwanese artist sponsored by Asia NZ Foundation for the week.

Venue : Nga manu Nature Reserve in the mornings and Whitireia campus ground floor on Kapiti Road Paraparaumu.

The theme is Kapiti Migration.

Use what ever symbols and motifs make sense to your journey.

Bring your stories and artefacts to develop some meaningful experiments. Im using my mothers journey to Wellington via Japan. And all the notes in between.

Questions or queries to me at

Debdonnellydtd@gmail.com

It’s September!

 a little difficult to believe spring has actually graced us yet. Signs of daffodils and leaping lambs, pollen all over the car but no let up on sub tropical temperatures. Never mind, all of the indigo vats trialled since August worked well using my Chinese ingredients. Thanks Jun and Amy for venturing onto Taobao for me. 

Evidence of spring! kowhai flowers magnolia and blossoms. Just no sun..

Owen’s deep pink magnolia blooms and blossoms on Kapiti coast. 

My stitched response to resist indigo dyed 6 and 8 point flowers. 

Spring show- setting up indigo dyed works as a trial. 

Wool, silk and linen infused with Yunnan Chinese sourced indigo vat. Added my recycled ribbons from Hanae mori collection, an influential 1980s Japanese fashion designer. I love the mix.. the silk will shine on this work if the sun comes along…

While I’m on the three month Dali arts residency Ive been able to wander across a few platforms in plant dyeing. Located some tea flowers that look like marigold and with a good alum mordant and tannin was able to experiment with kusaki zome plant dye on fabrics. Aka eco prints. 

The local Zhoucheng indigo centre helped  with the final vat dye.

Here are a few results. 

Photo of Xiao Bai head designer and owner at Lanxu centre taken by Boris HK 

Entry to Lanxu

My over dyed coloured felt wool silk butterflies

Rinsing off the indigo. 
Indigo vat dye on poly viscose knit and vintage silk kimono lining.

Marigold tea petals  hanazome on silk georgette using mokugame stitch

Kissed by petals – hana zome

I am wearing a shibori indigo scarf on my second trek on mt cangshan. 

Works at Lanxu centre and stitching Chinese Zha ran

Felt nuno merino wool and silk.

I’m carrying on with local plants as kusaki zome on vintage silks. 

More soon. 

Hana zome is the direct transfer of plant dye from leaves or petals onto the fibre, paper material or textile base cloth.

The colour will last for the duration of the artwork. The addition of a mordant like alum or iron will increase the tone and depth of your colour. 

A one day workshop with owner Lynne Wilson on their sustainable Sleepers vineyard near Blenheim.