Natural dyestuffs that color from nature

Moss Rock Festival’s
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT BLOG SERIES:

Jennifer Ingram, Fiber

What artists have influenced you?

As a fiber/textile artist, the artists who have influenced me are the nameless women and men of prehistory who discovered that spinning a plant or animal fiber could make a usable thread that could then be woven into bags and clothing and shelters.  They were experts with regards to their environment and discovered all the plants, insects, and minerals that could color their fibers and decorate their woven textiles into magnificent works of art that modern people mistakenly label “primitive”.  We are so fortunate that so many of their textiles have survived for us to see and study.

What exposure to art as a child influenced your career path?

As a child I was always fascinated to see artisans at work, especially weavers and spinners.  My mother’s family were all talented musicians, and my father’s mother was an incredible embroiderer and quilter.  In college I majored in music but eventually got a degree in Anthropology. And through my studies in Anthropology, I have an even greater appreciation of the spinners, weavers, and dyers who lived and worked so long ago. .

What kind of work will you be exhibiting for sale at Moss Rock Festival and how was it inspired by nature?

At Moss Rock I will be bringing hand woven textiles whose natural fibers I have dyed with colors from nature. Some natural dyestuffs I grow myself, some I gather from woods or roadsides, and a few I purchase in their dried form from many parts of the world.

Find out more about Jennifer, plus see more of her artwork:  Click here.