Natural dye studio in Gujarat

June 21, 2020
Dye pot with MarigoldWringing out fabric from Lac dyepotLac dye Undoubtedly, a visit to my friend Shafik's natural dye studio, in Gujarat, was another memorable, travel experience. Our stopover was twofold. First, we went to his studio. Shafik lives and...
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Visiting Sloth Bears at Indian sanctuary

April 12, 2020
This past February, I was visiting Sloth Bears at a sanctuary, for my fourth volunteer trip there! Elephants and Sloth Bears are the residents at this sanctuary . Injured animals, of all types or victims of Human-Wildlife conflicts are also...
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My Textile design path

January 29, 2020
My textile design path was influenced by a variety of things and situations. These include my Latvian heritage, printmaking, my love for colour and patterns, and textile designer, Zandra Rhodes. In my ongoing research of textile design, especially Natural Dyeing,...
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Autumn, our most colourful season

December 1, 2019
Autumn is upon us and it's our most colourful season. It's also the one that signifies the end of my beloved summer and the coming of winter. In terms of weather and lighting, it's high drama! (although our winter storms...
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Mordant pastes with natural dyes on vintage fabrics

September 22, 2019
Since late winter, I've been experimenting with various mordant pastes with natural dyes on vintage fabrics, trying to get consistent results. Easier said than done, not to mention, quite a bit of trial and error! But, it looks like I...
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Volunteer at sanctuaries for Elephants

March 24, 2019
Recently, I returned from my winter trip to Thailand. My main reason for visiting this country again was to volunteer at a sanctuary for Elephants. Over four weeks, I divided my time in several locations: Koh Chang, Chiang Mai, Phuket...
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Works in progress on fabric

December 14, 2018
Usually when I have works in progress, I am going through several processes (dyeing, mordanting, planning, researching, etc). Since I am using many techniques, I am also preparing several different pieces, at the same time. As I continue to experiment...
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Local dye, Goldenrod

November 12, 2018
As it turns out, the local dye, Goldenrod (Solidago), in Ontario, has 30 different species! Who would've thought? Goldenrod is an invasive, natural plant in this province in Canada, one that is often mistakenly blamed to cause seasonal allergies. This...
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