Crossed over into full witch mode when we activated our first Japanese Indigo dye vat recently 🌱💙

Had such a beautiful day testing our fermentation process on friends and whānau at our new wānanga space in Grey Lynn. We had Gina from @papahoafibreworks up from Ōtautahi with us sharing her knowledge (all our indigo seeds are sourced from her), lots of ooohhhs’s and ahh’s and wow’s as the potion bubbled and gurgled and plopped. Squeals of surprise from the kids when the fabric hits oxygen and shifts from green to blue. The process of extracting this dye is different from others I’ve been using, much more about leaning into chemistry and magic. The transformational unfolding of one material into another.

Planted out first indigo crop and my studio is full of blue 💙

Stay tuned for summer workshop announcements!

“Ngakinga is a public sculpture garden, a carefully cultivated space growing plants and flowers specifically selected for their natural dyeing properties to create textile arts. By combining a variety of native and introduced species, the garden’s mission is honoring the Indigenous knowledge that forms the foundation of natural dyeing practices. We are inviting folks to join us in building community around this land. To help us care for it softly and radically, with creativity and interconnectedness. Across four seasons. It will be a place to share personal stories and collective reflection with our feet in the soil and our faces in the flowers. A place to make art with natural dye plants through a lens of decolonisation and ecosystem regeneration, addressing the importance of sustainable practices and connection to the whenua while the Northcote town center is under redevelopment”

@northartnz @kaipatiki.project @uruwhakaaro #índigo

#inhabit #ngakinga #taiao #socialsculpture #naturaldye

#motheringassocialpractice #motherartist #inhabitproject #socialpractice #motherartist