This piece was inspired by the work and above all the philosophy of Fukumi Shimura, Japanese dyer and weaver, who speaks about Kusakizome (dyeing with plants) being an act of “receiving colour”. This passage in particular resonated with me deeply:
“Sometimes people tell me about attempts at dyeing gone awry. I wanted this color, they say, so I used that plant, just like the book said, but the result wasn’t what I expected.
This has it backwards, I think. The colors we receive are already there, within the plants. Our task is simply to bring them across to our side unharmed, and give them somewhere to stay.
In winter, trees stand in the snow, stoically waiting for spring and preparing to send forth new shoots when it arrives. When we take their trunks and branches for dyeing, we accept without reservation the colors we find within, and bring them to life in our weaving.”
An Arabic word in the same spirit came to mind: قبول Qubūl, which means “to receive kindly and graciously”, but also has other meanings of “goodliness, beauty, grace, comeliness; beauty of aspect or garb”. Nothing could be more perfect to describe both the natural colours and the attitude of receiving them.
Over several months, I used plant matter as it presented itself to me to dye threads of silk and linen, without expectation. I then stitched them on paper in the order I found them. Between the viewing angle and the glossy nature of the silk, the colours are ever-changing and can’t be pinned down. The overall composition is a double instance of Qubūl, which reflects the original Japanese concept to express my gratitude to the plants, but also to Life for what it has given me this past year.
The stitching started at the centre, tracing the letters backwards in both direction. Each skein was used for two squares, but the underlayer (linen) and top layer (silk) plants used are shifted so that every other square overlaps with a potentially contrasting hue. In this way some unexpected and constantly shifting optical mixes are achieved.
Creation process & details
The plants used were, in order:
- Mulberries
- Horse chestnut husks
- Hawthorn berries
- Mullein flowers
- Rosehips from Scotch rose
- Willow heartwood
- Almond prunings
- Virginia creeper berries
- Privet
- Onion skins
- Alder catkins
- Nettles
- Camomile flowers
- Ivy leaves
- Pecan shells
- Olive leaves
- Mediterranean stone pine bark
- Virginia creepers, old berries on the vine
- Crocus
- Bay laurel berries
- Japanese quince blossoms
- Daffodils
