Friday Fibers Roundup: Nature / Wonder / Growth

August 25, 2017

This week’s Friday Fibers Roundup features a mix nature themed articles–from indigo dyeing, to needle-felted portraits of pets, and so much more.

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1) Artist Laurel Roth Hope creates humorous, colorful, and one-of-a-kind sweaters to fit a standard urban pigeon–complete with a retrofitted hood with eye and beak holes. While seemingly funny at first, each suit represents an extinct bird species and highlights the futility of restoring lost biodiversity (via Colossal).

2) “Indigo: A Labor of Love” from the Ecotone Threads blog talks about the emotional and physical investment into growing and processing your own indigo, and the payoff afterwards.

3) In “Nettles For Textiles” Allan Brown demonstrates the steps of processing nettle plants, in order to extract a usable fibers for textiles.

4) Is the field of Dyes, Pigments, and Inks the correct one for you? This article by the American Chemical Society explains the requirements, skills, and careers associated with the interdisciplinary medium.

5) Dani Ives describes her method as “painting with wool” in her series of intricately created needle-felted portraits of dogs, cats, birds, and farm animals (via Colossal).

6) “Growing Paper Clothes in Rural Japan” by Cameron Allan McKean and Dahpine Mohajer Va Pesaran highlights a small community in Miyagi Prefecture and their struggles to continue creating Shiroishi–handmade paper and paper clothes (via Japan Times).

7) Japanese Bamboo Art: The Abbey Collection is on display now at The MET and highlights works of Japanese bamboo art dating from the late 19th century to the present.

8) Amsterdam-based artist Diana Scherer is taking topiary art to the next level with her ornate plant root structures, which she then photographs to comment on the relations of humans and nature (via Creators).

9) Yumi Okita has finished another series of stunning moths and insects made from fabric, embroidery thread, fake fur, wire, and feathers (via Colossal).

10) Heidi Leitzke’s magical and dreamy Thread Paintings are the perfect way to end the week! (via The Jealous Curator).