In her book Eco Colour, India Flint argues for collecting only fallen plant material for dyeing and using local plants as a record of “place”.

My view as I walked along the Swan River , with Belmont Racecourse on the other side

On my walk today in the local wetland and riverside park  I picked up a handful of fallen plant material from the ground.  Crispy and brown.

Three kinds of eucalyptus and some casuarina leaves, all fallen to the ground and dried

I soaked three pieces of silk in my iron water (undiluted white vinegar and lumps of scrap iron with a lovely three week old “crust”). I then laid the various found materials from today’s walk on each and bound them tightly around wooden rods with bandages and string.

Fine closely woven silk showing the tracery of casuarina leaves , two of the eucalyptus leaves and some faint gumnuts

All three silk pieces soaked in iron water and steamed for two hours with today’s locally collected material

Heavier woven silk patchily soaked in iron water with foraged eucalyptus leaves and casuarina needles