Flora Arbuthnott, printmaker, forager, and natural dyer joins us at Toby’s Garden & Harvest Festival to give a workshop on making natural dyes from plants. We asked Flora to tell us a little about herself and the art of natural dyeing:

“I am inspired by wild plants and natural forms. Being in nature is an important part of my practice. I go out foraging regularly, observing, and learning about the wild plants that grow around us. I use many of these plants for natural dyeing. Gathering meadowsweet and buddleia flowers, oak galls, and dock roots, or growing more exotic dye plants in my garden such as madder, woad, and coreopsis.”

“I love bringing people together to be creative. Giving people the technical skills through which they can be creative. Showing people how to create their own designs and printing techniques they can do at home, enabling people to create fabrics they will use and cherish, enduring and being repaired over time.”

Hear more from Flora at the Festival on Sunday 17th September in the Demo Yurt on the Top Lawn.