This fall, The Clifton Institute hosted a program called Colors of Clifton: Preserving the Palette of Autumn. We gathered native plants and learned about their special qualities with naturalist, Regina Yurkonis.
“I don’t want my art to do damage. All things pass away, so using natural materials allows one’s art to dissolve back into the system to become other things.”-Regina Yurkonis
Then we learned how to to make natural dyes, coaxing colors from leaves, flowers, bark and roots with historical home arts interpreter, Feliecia Brooks. Finally, we combined our naturally-dyed wool and pressed plants to create a unique framed art piece. Because I want you to actually see the colors of Clifton, instead of read about them, here are some photographs from the program along with a summary of the process:
Step 3: We prepared the dye pots (below, in order: goldrenrod, sumac, and walnut), then in went the yarn!
Alison Zak 