I just came back from 5 day felting workshop in Wanganui, organized by Fibre Arts New Zealand. The incredibly talented Pam de Groot thought us to create thee dimensional felt objects with a range of different techniques. It was an awesome week of learning sharing and exchanging ideas with other participants.
Splash
Spiral
Twisted Felt
Necklace
and when I came home I just could not stop and felted a boat shaped vessel…
I am offering an introduction to the Māori art of flax weaving in an intensive one day workshop in my studio. This is a workshop suitable for beginners.
What do you get
an introduction about types of harakeke and their uses
an overview about the tikanga (protocol) of the process of harvesting and using harakeke
learn some basic techniques
construct and complete a small basket
What to bring
All material and tools are provided. Bring your camera and pen and paper if you wish to take notes (recommended)
Workshop numbers are limited so make sure to book as soon as possible.
This week I took part in a two days kite making workshop with Otaki based kite maker Yvonne de Mill at Whitireia. I am not really a kite fan so I was not quite sure about what to expect and if I would like the result. The first day Yvonne introduced some basic (but important) rules about the structures of kites and gave us a very informative overview about historic and contemporary kites and kite artists around the globe. And she promised that our kites would fly.
This first kite was very basic, made with easy available materials such as food coloring, baking paper, skewers and old video tape for the tails.
And she was right, they all did fly. And it was exciting indeed.
On the second day, we designed and constructed our own kites. I decided to use natural materials, I found magnolia leaves on the ground already changing color into browns and yellows. They are very sturdy and shiny, easy to stitch. For the frame I gathered some makomako twigs, they are very strong and quite straight. This version does not fly though and the leaves will eventually fade and disintegrate. It will be interesting to see and document how long it takes them to return to the land.
So I am ready to go to the Otaki Kite Festival this weekend not only watching but also flying my own kite.
HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2016-02-26 21:54:252016-02-26 21:54:25Kite making workshop with Yvonne de Mille
During a short visit to Auckland I had the opportunity to visit a few of those lovely eastern beaches north of Auckland. First stop at Hatfield beach, a wide sandy beach with amazing rock formations and little caves shaped by wind, weather and tides. Although only to be admired close up at low tide. Lucky me.
The second stop was the Wenderholm Regional Park, just a few kilometer north of Hatfield beach. Lovely wooden post beaten by the elements.
Walking along further along the Puhoi river mouth watching the the rhythm of the waves this piece of wood been tossed and swirled around.
Revitalized…
HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2016-02-14 21:35:042016-02-14 21:35:04Beautiful beaches north of Auckland
All those sampling is really exciting with often unexpected results. In my studio boxes with little pieces of silks and wool start to pile up so I decided to go one step further and respond in my personal way creating whatever comes out of the flow. Limitation was, only to use the samples of my solar dyeing experiment with exception of the cotton I used as the background.
This piece of backing I stained with mud from the creek running through our farm. I used the thick dark brown mud with a lot of leaf litter, and let the cotton sit in there for about three days. A very tactile and odorous matter…
Some of the silk and merino pieces I eco printed with kapuka leaves.
HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2016-02-01 19:20:002016-02-01 19:20:00Bringing it together - solar dyeing
Sometimes I just wander. Its not about walking, its about seeing. The slower I walk the more I see. And every time I wander I see the new things or old friends, but always in a different light, weather or season. I love taking my camera to capture the beauty of texture, patterns and shapes in nature. Today I took a stroll on our farm, just looking and observing. And I always come home refreshed and with a clear mind.
After a few weeks with sun and heat I was more than ready to open my jars of solar dyed samples I had prepared and stored on the window sill of my studio.
I actually wanted to open just one jar to see what happened but couldn’t help it and opened all 5 of them before I got myself under control again. There were some nice surprises and outcomes and I particular like the patterns created by leaves and rust.
HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2016-01-03 14:13:462016-01-03 14:13:46Summer time - solar dyeing time part 2
X mas in New Zealand is very tricky. In Berlin I would never forget that x mas comes closer, they are markets all over the place, the smell of Gluehwein (mulled wine) and delicious Weihnachtsplaetzchen (biscuits) in the air, its usually very cold and x mas decorated windows everywhere. New Zealand right now: sunshine, the birds are singing, everything is green, the blossoms smelling sweet and the BBQ s are in action. Nice as well. And I totally forgot to buy xmas presents… good there are still some days left to think about what to get for whom and to buy or make some nice presents.
If you are still looking for some presents, what about some handmade harakeke (NZ flax) earrings? Available in turquoise and magenta, hooks surgical steel.
$ 20 per pair plus standard postage within NZ.
As long as stock lasts. Please contact me for orders.
HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2015-12-07 16:26:512015-12-07 16:26:51Ho ho ho Harakeke x-mas presents
Solar dyeing is a dye technique which involves very little. Its a good way to dye scraps of fabric and threads for further use. After stuffing the fabrics – I put leaves in some of them as well – into old glass jars I poured some leftover dye liquids in: black tea, onion skin liquid, soaked eucalyptus bark liquid and marigold liquid from last year. I also layered some liquids on top of each other to achieve blended colours.
dyestuff and yarns
placed in jars, there is some prickle leftover which may affects the outcome
filled up with dyestuff
sitting on the window sill and waiting for the sun to come out. The hardest thing is to forget about them, they need to stay in the sun at least till after x mas
HMNhttps://www.birgitmoffatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/LogoWhite_header-180x180.jpgHMN2015-11-25 13:54:222015-11-25 13:54:22Summer time - solar dyeing time part I
I have been resisting dyeing with kowhai flowers up to now because all parts of the plants are poisoning but also because the nectar is a preferred food source for tui and kereru. As I get more and more interested in natural dyes especially from New Zealand and flowers were abundant this year I decided to test the dye on a variety of natural fibres (silks, wool, muka and linen).
Freshly picked kowhai flowers
Soaked in water for a couple of days
Because of the strange smell I did the boiling and dyeing outside.
Samples with alum as mordant, not very bright although I like the shades which can give a beautiful subtlety on silks.
Samples dyed with a piece of copper plate, not much different from the alum mordant samples.
Samples with iron as mordant, almost a taupe shade. Quite a bit disappointing as I expected much stronger colours but there are some nice shades among them.
Sculptural felt in Wanganui
I just came back from 5 day felting workshop in Wanganui, organized by Fibre Arts New Zealand. The incredibly talented Pam de Groot thought us to create thee dimensional felt objects with a range of different techniques. It was an awesome week of learning sharing and exchanging ideas with other participants.
Harakeke weaving workshop 30 April 2016 9.30am-4.30pm
I am offering an introduction to the Māori art of flax weaving in an intensive one day workshop in my studio. This is a workshop suitable for beginners.
What do you get
What to bring
All material and tools are provided. Bring your camera and pen and paper if you wish to take notes (recommended)
Workshop numbers are limited so make sure to book as soon as possible.
Price $ 60 (including tea & coffee, and lunch)
Kite making workshop with Yvonne de Mille
This week I took part in a two days kite making workshop with Otaki based kite maker Yvonne de Mill at Whitireia. I am not really a kite fan so I was not quite sure about what to expect and if I would like the result. The first day Yvonne introduced some basic (but important) rules about the structures of kites and gave us a very informative overview about historic and contemporary kites and kite artists around the globe. And she promised that our kites would fly.
This first kite was very basic, made with easy available materials such as food coloring, baking paper, skewers and old video tape for the tails.
On the second day, we designed and constructed our own kites. I decided to use natural materials, I found magnolia leaves on the ground already changing color into browns and yellows. They are very sturdy and shiny, easy to stitch. For the frame I gathered some makomako twigs, they are very strong and quite straight. This version does not fly though and the leaves will eventually fade and disintegrate. It will be interesting to see and document how long it takes them to return to the land.
So I am ready to go to the Otaki Kite Festival this weekend not only watching but also flying my own kite.
Beautiful beaches north of Auckland
During a short visit to Auckland I had the opportunity to visit a few of those lovely eastern beaches north of Auckland. First stop at Hatfield beach, a wide sandy beach with amazing rock formations and little caves shaped by wind, weather and tides. Although only to be admired close up at low tide. Lucky me.
Walking along further along the Puhoi river mouth watching the the rhythm of the waves this piece of wood been tossed and swirled around.
Revitalized…
Bringing it together – solar dyeing
All those sampling is really exciting with often unexpected results. In my studio boxes with little pieces of silks and wool start to pile up so I decided to go one step further and respond in my personal way creating whatever comes out of the flow. Limitation was, only to use the samples of my solar dyeing experiment with exception of the cotton I used as the background.
This piece of backing I stained with mud from the creek running through our farm. I used the thick dark brown mud with a lot of leaf litter, and let the cotton sit in there for about three days. A very tactile and odorous matter…
Lost in Detail
Sometimes I just wander. Its not about walking, its about seeing. The slower I walk the more I see. And every time I wander I see the new things or old friends, but always in a different light, weather or season. I love taking my camera to capture the beauty of texture, patterns and shapes in nature. Today I took a stroll on our farm, just looking and observing. And I always come home refreshed and with a clear mind.
red bands/gumboots/wellingtons
the woods
mosses
and cobwebs
dried mud
and wild strawberries
pine cones
new life
lichens
more lichens
bark
death
wilted poppy
acorn
seed pod
wood
and Teddy & Squirt…
And tomorrow I will wander again.
Summer time – solar dyeing time part 2
After a few weeks with sun and heat I was more than ready to open my jars of solar dyed samples I had prepared and stored on the window sill of my studio.
I actually wanted to open just one jar to see what happened but couldn’t help it and opened all 5 of them before I got myself under control again. There were some nice surprises and outcomes and I particular like the patterns created by leaves and rust.
jar 1
jar 2
jar 3
jar 4
jar 5
silk yarns
some interesting details
Ho ho ho Harakeke x-mas presents
X mas in New Zealand is very tricky. In Berlin I would never forget that x mas comes closer, they are markets all over the place, the smell of Gluehwein (mulled wine) and delicious Weihnachtsplaetzchen (biscuits) in the air, its usually very cold and x mas decorated windows everywhere. New Zealand right now: sunshine, the birds are singing, everything is green, the blossoms smelling sweet and the BBQ s are in action. Nice as well. And I totally forgot to buy xmas presents… good there are still some days left to think about what to get for whom and to buy or make some nice presents.
If you are still looking for some presents, what about some handmade harakeke (NZ flax) earrings? Available in turquoise and magenta, hooks surgical steel.
$ 20 per pair plus standard postage within NZ.
As long as stock lasts. Please contact me for orders.
Summer time – solar dyeing time part I
Solar dyeing is a dye technique which involves very little. Its a good way to dye scraps of fabric and threads for further use. After stuffing the fabrics – I put leaves in some of them as well – into old glass jars I poured some leftover dye liquids in: black tea, onion skin liquid, soaked eucalyptus bark liquid and marigold liquid from last year. I also layered some liquids on top of each other to achieve blended colours.
placed in jars, there is some prickle leftover which may affects the outcome
sitting on the window sill and waiting for the sun to come out. The hardest thing is to forget about them, they need to stay in the sun at least till after x mas
Dyeing with kowhai flowers
I have been resisting dyeing with kowhai flowers up to now because all parts of the plants are poisoning but also because the nectar is a preferred food source for tui and kereru. As I get more and more interested in natural dyes especially from New Zealand and flowers were abundant this year I decided to test the dye on a variety of natural fibres (silks, wool, muka and linen).