Artist Feature > THOUGHT FORMS : Why I don't have an At-Home Studio
This is a love letter to Green Matters.
Heron to a Full Moon - dyed with indigo and madder
Hey all - My name is Bixa and I am a Green Matters team member as well as fine artist. For the past year or so, my partner - Dan Cole - and I have taken advantage of Workshops and Open Studio sessions to work on our pieces and build out our portfolio. Together we create art as Thoughtforms.
Our work is an exploration of the invisible world of plants and their energetic signatures.
The Magician - Indigo, catechu, madder and pomegranate on cotton
Thoughtforms is based in Philadelphia, where we live, but I drive back out to Lancaster on the weekends to get in long sessions of making in at Green Matters. You can check out some of the process on our hunky-doory instagram.
After hemming and hawing over the drive, I began to wonder if I should relocate some of the wet processes to our back yard. We weren’t sure we had the space to dye our art work. Sure, we can cook up some onion skins in our designated steel pots and dye a t shirt, but how do we plan to dye several yard of fabric at home?
For starters, this is our backyard. Dan built this greenhouse himself (swoon) with the intention of using it as a workshop for all of the various projects we get wrapped up in. Here’s a time lapse of Dan stretching one of our first finished pieces, “Heron to a Full Moon.’
Timelapse of Dan stretching “Heron to a full Moon”
We wondered how we would use our small Philadelphia yard (and possibly the mid sized lot connected to it) as a dye studio. We had to consider how we would heat water for dye baths, how we we would rinse off our indigo dyed pieces after each dip, drainage, etc. It was tempting to create a space where we could work on the wet processes at home. Once we started getting in to the details of what we would need to set up at home, we quickly realized that if you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, don’t.
I realized there was no point to building a dye studio in my back yard when I had access to the Greatest Dye Studio on Earth.
The Green Matters studio in her glory - can you spy all three indigo vats?
If you are an at home dyer, I assure you that there are some things that will be much easier with access to an industrial space. Especially if you like to work big.
Curious about bringing some big projects to our studio this spring? Check out our events page to find all the details about upcoming events.
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Why I don’t have an At Home Studio
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Setting up a dye studio at home is not impossible, but it can be resource intensive. Dan & I have no intention of setting one up in our Philadelphia back yard when we have access to some core components of a dye studio - consider the questions below!
✿ What is your at home water supply?
Green Matters houses a 60,000 cistern under the building that collects rainwater. This means our water-intensive practice of dyeing is sustained and filtered by the clouds in the sky. Rain falls, cistern fills, we dye.
✿ What vessels will you use to host your indigo vat or other dye baths?
We typically have 3 indigo vats accessible to our production team + workshop attendees, as well as a plethora of vessels of all sizes that can be used for the multiple wet stages of the dye process. Each indigo vat has capacity for 20 gallons of liquid, and our industrial dye kettles have 50 gallon capacity. We also have industrial dye machines that can be used to yield a more even color outcome.
✿ How do you empty your dye baths?
Ahh - my personal favorite feature of Green Matters :We have drains built in to the floor. This means you don't have to worry about flooding any part of your home or yard. This also means you don’t have to worry about turning your bathtub blue (rumor has it Winona’s mom had a blue bathtub during the start-up years)
✿ Where do you hang your enormous work to dry?
I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record but…I don’t have space to hang my work to dry at home. Green Matters has the space. In this photo are 10 in-progress pieces of mine (and several of Winona’s) hanging up to dry in on 2/3 of the hanging drying racks at Green Matters.
Some works in progress hanging out in the studio - peep some of Winona's hibiscus prints hanging as well!
Long story short: Don’t let the fear of setting up your studio stop you from doing the work you’re called to do.
Big projects in mind? Don't be afraid to reach out to us at info@greenmattersnaturaldyecompany.com
With gratitude,
Bixa
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