Donna Legault is an experimental artist based in Ottawa, Canada. Her work explores opportunities afforded by technology to acknowledge human/non-human relations through gesture and resonance. Her research is disseminated through modalities of motion and sound via electronic installation, sculpture, drawing, and performance.
July and August, 2021
Alex Noël and I brought together our skills in papermaking and paper/fabric staining using recycled materials (cotton fibre), found materials, and naturally sourced dyes. Our workshop series extended from Zoom meetups in participants kitchens to the public space of Victoria Square, Montreal.
Certain foods and spices make excellent environmentally low impact dyes. If you’ve ever stained your fingers, a shirt, or a wooden spoon with curry seasoning, you know the power of curcumin in turmeric to make things a beautiful bright yellow.
Preparation:
Ingredients: Combine your chosen plant-based material with equal amounts of distilled or filtered water. For example, one cup of blueberries with one cup of water.
For spices (turmeric or sumac), combine 2 tbsp of spice with one cup of water.
For ground coffee, combine 1/3 cup with one cup of water.
Instructions:
Bring preparation(s) to a low boil (in separate pots if you’re making more than one dye).
Reduce heat and simmer for at least half an hour.
Add quantities of salt (to sweet fruit preparations) or vinegar (as shown in image below).
Preparations can be stored in separate glass or plastic container(s) and refrigerated until needed
Here’s a list of readily available plant-based materials that make great dyes:
1. Red Cabbage (coarsely chopped)
2. Blueberries (whole, fresh or frozen)
3. Raspberries (whole, fresh or frozen)
4. Purple Onion (skins only)
5. Beets (peeled and coarsely chopped)
6. Coffee beans (ground)
7. Turmeric (dry ground)
8. Yellow Onion (skins only)
9. Sumac bark (dry ground)
10. Spinach leaves (coarsely chopped, fresh or frozen)
Materials:
1. Bowl(s), sieve and paper towels or coffee filters
2. Container(s) to store the dye(s) (glass or plastic with lids)
3. Vinegar and salt
4. Measuring cups and spoons
5. Non-porous surface (counter or glass cutting board)
6. Watercolour paper, drawing paper, or handmade paper that is unsized (waterleaf) or weakly sized.
7. Application tools: brushes, dropper, straw, syringe
