Exploring Stitch Meditation

Stitch Meditation does not have to be restricted to fabric. You can try other media as well. In fact, I decided to upcycle my stash of paper and fabric scraps. There's always a way to reuse them in the most interesting way, and stitch meditation and upcycling them into little booklets was perfect.  Inspired by India Flint, I scribbled,  I stitched and I folded.  And then I eco-printed.  As some of you may know, I had posted on my instagram what my freezer looked like - basically a garden waiting to be cleared out. 

I used bits of paper scraps, natural fiber fabric scraps (naturally dyed, some just plain) and then I raided my freezer and slipped them in between the folds of the stitched booklets before tying them up into bundles.  I used a brick to make sure everything was held in place. 

Plants used:

1. eucalyptus
2. rambutan and neem leaves (from The Tender Gardener)
3. betel nut (from Cultivate Central)
4. lotus leaf (from Native)
5. ixora
6. bougainvillea
7. rose petals (waste from a shop opening)
8. strawberry tops (from our food waste)

The 2 stacks were boiled in separate pots for about 30 minutes - the bricks were too big for me to put into one pot - before being cooled down and left for about 2 days.  

I love how the colours in the 2 stacks came out different and this was very obvious with the way the ixora turned out as you'll see in the videos below. Please excuse the way the videos turned out - I realised I was speaking way too slowly and having you sit through 20 minutes of boring monologue would be painful.

Next steps will be to sew all these beautiful booklets together!

Hapazome Aprons - A Collaboration with Native

Good work takes hard work.
And good work takes time!

Last year I was approached by zero waste bar, Native, to create a series of prints and patterns on fabric for their new aprons. They were creating a new menu and thought it would be opportune to tie it in with a new look that was upcycled too.  Mind you, I had some lovely Egyptian cotton sheets from a 5 star hotel that needed some upcycling as well.  I was super excited to be working with  Native because they had the same sustainable philosophy as me - use what you need and close the loop!  They were using natural and, where possible, foraged ingredients, and  composting their waste. It's really exciting to see their Instagram posts where they post their daily waste - which sometimes can fit one a small kitchen scale!!

Native passed me their ingredients from their garden and food waste and I got working. There were things like blue pea, borage and even tarragon. It took a while for me to get the hang of it but I managed to have the plants imprinted with the hapazome technique onto the mango leaf dyed fabric. And soon, I had this golden yellow with prints on. The final touch was the free motion embroidery.

These were the eventual pieces of fabric that were sent to be made into aprons. 

I hope you can see the embroidered details.  The fabric was less absorbent than expected and so I ended up with prints that were not so defined.  I think it was because the count of the fabric was higher and more fine than a handkerchief (which is what I normally dealt with in hapazome workshops).  Nevertheless, we were both happy with the outcome, and I was particularly pleased with the embroidered tarragon flowers. 

Fun fact - tarragon is used in cooking steak and gives off this nice licorice like aroma! Native uses them in their cocktails!

And here's the final outcome!
I'm also happy to say that the colours of the hapazome are still there!

Do you like them? I love how the blue base material brings out the yellow of the mango leaf dyed fabric.  Let know in the comments!

Eco Printing - Leaves in the Rain

Being an artist means observing things that others don't notice.
The small shoots growing on the kerbside, the tufts of grass struggling for sunlight between the tiles, and the flowers scattered all across the pavement from a tree in full bloom. I begin to see how our natural and humans are "living together" maybe not in perfect harmony, but perhaps trying?

Finding My Inner Tortoise

I recently wrote about how slowing down allows me to draw my attention to these tiny details. Taking a walk through the park or even just deliberately looking at things that I wouldn't normally look at has drawn me to sketching and translating them into stitch. I think I can now say that I am no longer tree blind! (pssst - put down that phone!)

The Wet Season

It's been really wet in the last part of the year in Singapore. If you walk past a eucalyptus tree, you'll notice how the leaves make marks on the pavement after a heavy downpour.  It's nature way of communicating with us. After another period of rain, the tannin marks get washed away and new marks get made in their place - different patterns reflecting different moods of the weather!

I wanted to translate and communicate this interaction of nature's marking on our lives through an eco-printed and embroidered piece. I had experimented with ecoprinting but wanted to produce a more subtle and grey look on the piece.  This involved using more diluted iron solution to give a gentler washed out look.  Once the eco-printing was complete, the piece was then layered with hand and freemotion embroidery - this alludes to the complexity behind nature's interaction with us.

The final piece is 100 x 50cm. Fear had held me back for a while before I could complete this, but once I let go and just (as my friend told me) "do it because there's nothing to lose", everything fell into place. Even if it doesn't become something I like, I can always put it away for later or use it for something else. There's always a way!

🌱Leaves in the Rain🌱
100x40cm
Eucalyptus leaves ecoprinted on fabric offcuts.
Handstitch and free motion embroidery

A Pigment of Imagination - TEDx Pickering Experience

It's been really hot, actually scorching hot. I've never experienced such intense heat before especially during the early hours of the morning. Is it climate change? I saw the destruction in the wake of the super typhoon in Hong Kong and it's very scary - could it be Earth leashing its anger upon us? My friend told me that the storm dumped a couple of inches of sand from the beach onto her roof!

Slowing Down

I sometimes feel that if we all slowed down, if we were all very content with life and not chasing after more, maybe things would be different. If you would like to experience what has been going on behind the scenes with my efforts in slowing down, join me for A Pigment of Imagination. This experience session is a collaboration between me and TEDx Pickering and is 8th in a series of experiences. 

15 slots only! Sign up here.

[About Adventure]

You might have heard of the slow food movement, but what about slow living? Slow living is all about slowing down. And in this adventure, we join Agatha Lee "Agy" (Agy Textile Artist) on her journey to discover nature's colours, which helped her discover her 'inner tortoise'. 

On this adventure, you will learn about the different flora in our own 'backyards', connect with nature and also gain insight on Agy's creative process in transforming these colours of nature into beautiful ecoprints. 

[Session includes]

a) exploratory session in neighbourhood park

b) sharing session and demonstration of natural dyeing

We would first meet at Woodlands MRT, before leaving for Mandai Tekong Park! 

All of our Adventures are FREE and the $2 collected would be refunded at the door. :)

You can also choose to get a 16 x 16" naturally dyed cotton handkerchief for $26 as a souvenir. Limited to 5 pieces only!

[Things to Wear/Bring]

Comfortable shoes and clothing

Hat

Sunblock

Mosquito repellent

====== This event is made possible by ======

LearnSG Seed Fund, created to help individuals and groups bring learning ideas to life!

https://www.learnnow.sg/seedfund/

Our Singapore Fund aims to support groups of individuals or registered organisations to initiate projects that promote our Singapore Spirit and shared values and build more socially inclusive communities.

Find out more at: www.sg/oursingaporefund

Avocado Dye

Hello the end of July. It feels rather strange to have not updated the blog for a while. Things have been happening! Firstly, I got invited to be a resident artist at the Tampines Secondary School makerspace.  I will be conducting eight sessions on sewing, upcycling, manipulating fabric and basic surface design. The exciting thing about this residency is that 95% of the class is made up of boys, and because of this, I decided to select more exciting (read, energy expending sessions!) textile art techniques other than sewing.  So, we will be embarking on marbling with fabric, and hectograph / jelly plate making and fabric printing, which I think the kids will find fun.  Originally, felting was on the cards but unfortunately budget-wise it did not make sense especially since we would have to source for natural wool.

Avocado Natural Dye

And whilst this has been happening, I have been stewing a few avocado seeds at home.  I have found the best concoction is to let the seeds soak overnight at an alkaline pH. By the end of the day, you should have a rich red tincture-like looking syrup. I popped my cotton into the mixture and let that soak for another 24 hours. I had the mixture on gentle heat but there was no intense bubbling. By the end of the long soak, I had a nicely coloured grocery bag (from Simple Cotton by Puffy) and samples of cotton fabric (YouLiving and Coopita). I'm definitely interested to see how this experiment will progress.

Materials - 3 avocado seeds peeled and halved, baking soda
Pretreated cotton
48 hours process

I Made My Own Espadrilles

Kintsugi Inspired, Naturally Dyed

This is an update to my shoe project. My uppers were ready for espadrille making, and I visited the Lisa Teng, a shoe designer and maker last Thursday!  Look how pretty the uppers are! I had an enjoyable time making the uppers of my shoes from upcycled naturally dye fabric remnants. In line with my mending theme, I was inspired by the kintsugi method and replicated it through free motion embroidery for the shoe design.

The whole process of making the shoes (not including my time of stitching the uppers) was about 5 hours. It looks straightforward but as Lisa explained to me, there were many things to take note of, including making sure to tighten the threads, and making sure the uppers were properly aligned with the base of the espadrilles.

After sewing a pair of espadrilles for slightly over 5 hours, I can honestly say that my hands came out really sore, and I was really hungry! I don't think you could use normal sewing needles or thread to make shoes due to the thickness of the soles. 

Here's a video of part of the process - aligning the pieces and then sewing them up. I ran out of memory about 3/4 of the way so that's why this video gives a peek of what we did.

Interpreting Mending - A Series of Postcards Part 2

It took me a while but I am so glad that I didn't rush through the sewing for the postcards.  I am so pleased with the results. Please read the descriptions of each piece and I hope you can see where the inspiration came from.  Find out more about the process of making them in this post.
These postcards will be on display at Pameran Poskad from 15 - 24 July at ION Art Gallery, ION Orchard, Singapore.

Postcard 1/10 Mending - Superficial  1
Price - SG$48   SOLD
On the surface everything looks great, but peel back the layers and you will find the journey of pain and healing. 
Textile waste
Naturally dyed with eucalyptus leaves

Postcard 2/10 Mending - Superficial 2 

Price - SG$48  SOLD
Sometimes mending just covers things up. Are we really finding a solution?
Textile waste, free motion embroidery
Naturally dyed with eucalyptus leaves.

Postcard 3/10 Mending - Painful Memories 1 
Price - SG$78
The world is full of anguish and despair. We desperately try to fix it but it creates one problem after another. In doing so, we create painful memories.
Textile waste, free motion embroidery, handstitching, 
Natural dyes with avocado, eucalyptus leaves

Postcard 4/10  Mending - Painful Memories 2
Price - SG$78
I took inspiration for this from the patches used to repair clothes or quilts. Sometimes the mending only covers the bad and isn't the solution, hence the warped stitching and patches in this piece.
Textile waste, free motion embroidery, handstitching.

Postcard 5/10 Mending the Mind
Price - SG$88
The mind is so complex that it is difficult to pin point a remedy to alleviate the emotional turmoil a person could be going through. It could run deeper than we think, and no quick fix will be able to pull the person through all the mind's layers and into the light. 
Textile waste, free motion embroidery, handstitching

Postcard 6/10 Mending Relationships
Price - SG$58   SOLD
The relationships between you and your friends changes over time. Sometimes it's good, but other times it just disintegrates. How do we reestablish these broken connections? May be it takes mending what's on the inside first before offering your friendship again. 
Textile waste, free motion embroidery, handstitching 
Natural dyes - eucalyptus leaves

Postcard 7/10  Mend Nature or Fix Ourselves

Price - SG$68

Nature has its own way of resetting itself, so we shouldn't be mending nature but rather changing the way we behave towards it. It could be consuming less or going vegan. Every action counts! 

Textile waste, free motion and hand embroidery, 

Natural dyes with eucalyptus bark and leaves

Botanical printing - rambutan leaf

Postcard 8/10 Mending - Blinded 

Price - SG$58
Are we blinded by our own experiences? Sometimes what we believe to be the solution is just something that restricts us from seeing the bigger picture. This is a reversible postcard.
Textile waste, 
Free motion embroidery
Natural dye with mango leaves

Postcard 9/10 Mending - Beauty in the Broken 1
Price - SG$58
Part of my slowing down journey involves embracing imperfections - I try to remind myself, don't sweat the small stuff! 
Textile waste
Naturally dyed - mango leaves and avocado
Free motion embroidery

Postcard 10/10 Mending - Beauty in the Broken 2
Price - SG$58
Embracing imperfections in life.
Textile waste
Naturally dyed mango leaf, avocado and tumeric
Free motion embroidery

Natural Dye & Upcycling Workshops

April and May has been really eventful with my first natural dye workshop, and upcycling sessions at Fashion Revolution SG and Fashion Makerspace. I didn't even get time to update my blog about what has been happening until now!

I was very honoured to work with Swapaholic and provide an upcycling workshop for the VIP participants of their clothes swap. Over 10 guests had the privilege of making their own fashion statement necklaces from upcycled t-shirts.  Don't you think they had a lot of fun with the upcycling?
Thank you to Swapaholic!

Restyle Your Wardrobe Upcycling Workshop

My upcycling participants also got very creative at the 13th workshop of Restyle Your Wardrobe. In fact, I cannot believe that this upcycling workshop is now into its fourth year. It feels like yesterday when I had my first one at the Science Centre. I remember very clearly that no one turned up and the organiser very kindly decided to have the volunteers take part instead. I was actually very disappointed and thought that upcycling has no place in Singapore.  However, fast forward to today and now everyone is talking about upcycling. We even have events just on the topic itself. How strange, yet exciting at the same time.  This time around, I had my first male participant. He signed up with his wife, and I was interested what he would bring and make. Here are all the participants with their creations - cushion cover, skirts, tissue box cover and tops!

Next workshop - If you are keen to take part, I am having my next session at Fashion Makerspace on 29 July, 1 - 5.30pm. 

Are you interested in natural dyeing? 

My first natural workshop in collaboration with GUILD was a success. Participants were curious on what local flora could be used in the dye process. They came, they chose their dyes and they went home to continue the experiment.  Take a look at the photos on my facebook page and one of the participant's results. 

Here is an update on my natural dye journey where I have tried new dye materials. 

And if you are keen to take part in my next session with GUILD, I am having session #2 on 15 July

Natural Dyes - Rainbow Eucalyptus, Beetroot, Roselle

The weather has been very strange lately, and it's also affecting my natural dyeing process. We are supposed to be well into the dry season but we have been getting alternating hot and very wet weather. This really frustrates me when I am trying to experiment with my natural dyeing. It's really important to plan, but when I decide to forage or start my dye pot, I see dark clouds outside. There was one week when it rained buckets and I only just managed to collect some eucalyptus leaves and bark to experiment. However, the result was so different from the plant matter collected during the dry season (ie during my art residency last year). Nature does have its way of giving us a variety of natural dye colours.

Anyway, I have been conducting more experiments, and this is an update to you all. I'm looking forward to more upcycling with the use of natural dyes!

Rainbow Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus Deglupta

I do store some of my natural dye material in the freezer. They are carefully wrapped or stored in boxes placed on one side of the freezer shelf. My husband has joked that it's now become a garden - yes, very funny (not). Last November, I managed to take a trip down to the Tanjong Katong area to visit GUILD, which is way in the east of Singapore. Along the way, I stopped by the  Katong Park because I had read about the rainbow eucalyptus tree (aka Mindanao Gum, eucalyptus deglupta) and also I thought it was about time I explored other types of eucalyptus.

The rainbow eucalyptus tree at Katong Park has been classified as a heritage tree, probably because it was planted when the grounds was an army fort during the British colonial days. As you can see from the picture, it's not called a rainbow eucalyptus plant for no reason. I was only able to get a close up of the tree - it's huge - as the park was undergoing renovation.

I managed to get some fallen bark, and because I had difficult identifying the leaves on the ground, I was unable to collect any that I could confidently say are of the rainbow eucalyptus. I need to try harder.

Once I put the bark in the pot, I was thinking how fun it would be to get a rainbow of colours from the tree bark - the greens, reds and browns. In the end, I managed to get a beautiful deep brown. I didn't expect anything other than that.

Beetroot

I think beetroot like the red leaf hibiscus  was a disappointment. The swatches of fabric faded within 3 days of being dyed with the beetroot waste from the Native bar. Wouldn't it be good just to produce a red from natural dyeing? I definitely need to explore more.

Roselle 

Roselle is a fruit that's very common in south east Asia. We use the fruit to make a red drink called roselle hibiscus tea, and it is said to have medicinal powers! I'm not sure about the medicinal value but it sure does taste like a healthier version of Ribena.  Anyway, since it gives a red colour why not try making natural dyes from it, right?  I had obtained some dried Roselle calyces from the zerowaste bar, Native and got into action.

I soaked the calyces in hot water and dyed 3 pieces of prepped fabric that were then:
a) kept in my notebook for one month
b) hung in the sun for one month
c) washed in water 4 times over a period of a month

I noticed that although the Roselle gave a distinct purple red, it did fade in water. This is very unfortunate, but I think the pieces would be good for wall hangings or anything that does not involve washing.

(L to R - in the dark, in the sun, washed frequently)

Are you interested in coming for my next natural dye workshop?

I am working with GUILD again to bring you another session on 15th July, 11am at Funan Showsuite.   We had such a blast at the first session on 5th May (as you can see in these photos).  Natural dyeing may sound daunting but I guide you guide you step by step on how to use the power of the sun to create your own beautifully dyed mini furoshiki handkerchief ready for you to wrap your bento box or carry your barang barang.

Once you learn this technique, you can start your dyeing at home! Sign up here.

Hapazome - Leaf Dye

Lately I have been getting feedback that the traditional natural dye methods that I have been experimenting with take too long. I am not really sure what to say to that. Processes take time and with time, the product becomes more valued and admired.  An analogy I would say is the process of making wine? The longer it ferments, the more robust the taste of the drink. Well, I was leafing (no pun intended!) through India Flint's Eco Colour Book (a wonderful gift from a generous friend) and found hapazome, or leaf dye in Japanese. Hapazome involves transferring the colours and the image of the plant material directly onto the fabric or a piece of paper. In this case, the dye is not "integrated" with the fibers but merely placed on the surface.

To be honest, it does look very pretty because plants such as the blue pea flower, or the red leaf hibiscus give bright colours. This was unexpected because I tried an immersive bath with red leaf hibiscus and I got an abysmal grey. With Hapazome, you can even lay out the plant material like a drawing and stitch over them with embroidery work like I have done here. Doesn't it look dainty? I'm very pleased with the result.

Will it last? 

I have used soya milk and alum to prepare the fabric before hammering away. Others have suggested using soda ash to mordant the fabric. Nevertheless, the colours will fade and the image will smudge if you transfer it to water. So, the suggestion is not to wash it at all. It works perfectly as a collage of colours to hang up in the living room. 

Workshop at The Green Collective SG

Hapazome is another way of transferring colour to different materials. As you can see from the picture below, the best part is you get to transfer the actual plant print too. On top of that there is the added advantage of relieving stress through pounding the leaves and flowers using a hammer or a stone.  It sounds very easy but there are a lot of tips and tricks that I will share with you at my workshop at The Green Collective SG. The workshop is happening on 19 May (2.30pm - 4pm).

Venue: The Green Collective SG, #01-26/27, OneKM Mall
Nearest MRT: Paya Lebar (Circle and EW Line), 8 minute walk from the station
Sign up link

What is The Green Collective SG?
More than a dozen homegrown eco brands have teamed up to launch a multi-brand concept store on the first floor of OneKM Mall.  From April to 3 July 2018, visitors can look forward to shopping from a range of sustainable products, and participate in regular workshops ranging from making soaps, natural dyes and transforming upcycled textiles to handcrafted necklaces. Find out more here.

Tips on Creating Botanical Prints

What do the words "natural" and "eco" mean to you? Just like the word "sustainable", "natural" and "eco" can be interpreted differently depending on your beliefs and values.  To some people, natural means no chemicals.  Others may interpret it as being direct from the source and no industrial processing whatsoever. When I started my natural dye journey, I realised (as I had mentioned in this post) that the process is not at all as natural as people make it out to be. In comparison with synthetic dyes, however, the process is a lot gentler.  Perhaps, we should call it "botanical dyes" or "botanical prints" to avoid the misconception that the process is completely natural. What do you think?

The City Ramble, Citizen Farm

I definitely had a lot of queries regarding the "natural" part of the dye process during my "Reconnecting with Nature" dye installation over the weekend.  Many visitors did not know that chemicals are used in natural dyeing, and were also intrigued by the long process. In fact, I guess you could say that the only natural part is the dye source itself - not processed and no additives! It sparked very interesting conversations, and one discussion I clearly remember is one with a secondary school chemistry teacher, Gerald. He said that perhaps I should use solvents instead of water to extract the pigments. This is something worth investigating!

A Walk in the Garden

Before the City Ramble, we were given a tour of the venue, Citizen Farm. Sam, our guide for the afternoon, shared with us the farm's philosophy of challenging the way we eat and live.

"Instead of consuming industrially-produced food shipped halfway across the globe, we want our community to thrive on sustainable, safe, and locally-grown fresh food."

It was interesting to not only see greens thriving in an urban setting, but also the rearing of black soldier flies for the breakdown of food waste, and their research into aquaculture technology to raise fish and grow crops. I love how the farm incorporates the close-looped concept into its operations!

I got a chance to try out marigold, red leaf hibiscus and red cosmos from the farm. I purchased a small box of the flowers and got down to the dyeing.  Once the dye pots of the marigold and red leaf hibiscus were made, I got busy. I was amazed by the yellow from the marigold (right, image below)), but the red leaf hibiscus (left) was awfully disappointing.

Tips on Creating Botanical Prints

After getting an intense yellow from the marigold, I decided to use them in botanical prints. I sprinkled them together with the red cosmos in the middle of a long sheet of fabric before rolling it up tightly around a pipe. The piece was steamed and then allowed to rest before over-dyeing with mango leaves. I finally hand-embroidered the piece with a variety of Wt 50 sewing threads (DMC and Gutterman).

🍀A Walk In the Garden🍀
Magnolia and cosmos botanical print
Mango leaf dye
Hand embroidered
Textile waste
Approx 30cm x 120cm

After so many attempts in botanical printing, here are some of the tricks that I have applied.

1. Metal conducts heat so a metal pipe gives you the advantage over a plastic or paper-made pipe. 
2. Roll it up tight and I mean REALLY tight to get defined and clean prints of the flora.
3. Cure it for as long as you can. I cured it for at least 3 days before unwrapping it. 
4. If you look really closely at the print, you will notice that flowers tend to smudge a bit and I found it particularly so for the red cosmos.  Compare this with the leaves that I have been trying out (see video below). So if you would like something really defined then perhaps leaves will be your go to flora.

What are your tips? Do share below!

Thank you to ShopHouse and Co for inviting me to be part of The City Ramble 2018, and to Citizen Farm for providing their support and lovely venue.

Have you signed up for the workshop?