Individual Artist Project Grant

I believe my community will benefit from this project as I will teach a free public workshop in natural dyeing and garment construction, in addition to having free information about this project, its execution, and results available on my website. I will be able to educate those interested in how to responsibly, ethically, and sustainably harvest natural materials in the Arrowhead region and how to appropriately use them, hopefully encouraging responsible stewardship of our lands and the natural world. I will serve as a community resource for natural dyes, as well as garment and quilt construction.In executing this project, I am attempting to increase my technical dyeing and garment construction skills, in addition to diving deeper into my sense of place here in the Arrowhead region. In researching the plants that are suitable for using for dyes, I will learn about the native plants that grow here, as well as the invasive species which have been introduced. Once I've identified the invasive species, I will attempt to trace when, where, and how these plants were introduced to the Arrowhead region, and map out the resulting information. Once the dyes are complete, I will set out to make two sets of garments to wear; one using the invasive species, one using the native species, as well as a quilt made of the scraps of each. The resulting garments, as well as the relevant information gathered and published on my website and the public workshop which will take place in my shop, will provide a measurable outcome of the success of the skills and knowledge executed and gained. You can have the utmost confidence that I will execute this project as I have completed many projects relevant to this in the past and hold myself to a high professional standard. Additionally, I am very excited and motivated by this project. I have always wished to pursue natural dyeing and clothing construction further but have not had the proper resources and equipment. I also am passionate about teaching and have years of relevant teaching experience. I believe I have set out a more than reasonable timeline to be able to complete my goals for this project and share what I have learned and created. In addition to my relevant professional artistic experience needed to execute this project, I have taken appropriate courses and have an herbalism certification from Gigi Stafne, which will aid in my responsible, ethical foraging and harvesting of the wild plants I will use.I am excited about this project because I believe that the measurable outcomes will come from not only the finished garments and quilt, but also from the process as a whole. The successful completion of foraging the plants, dying the materials, constructing the garments and quilt, teaching the workshop, and documenting my process will measure the outcomes.