Nuno felt and natural dye workshop in Arenas Verdes, Argentina, 2016

State of the Art.

Catalysta.org has published a series of talk "State of the Art": Three eco fashion experts explain how one of the most wasteful industries in the world can take the steps necessary for change and a sustainable future.
There are 3 videos released so far and all of them are so worth watching and listening to to increase your conscious choice in this world of textiles. But a second video has my work as illustration on the talk of Sass Brown, researcher, writer, blogger (ecofashiontalk.com), and educator, her area of expertise is eco fashion, about inspiring, great design and traditional materials and techniques (it starts on minute 1:55):http://catalysta.org/passion/whats-cost-fashion/

Handprint

"you carry the stories of the people that make your clothes"...

Who really made your clothes?
From Director Mary Nighy and Producers White Lodge comes Handprint, a provocative short film starring Elettra Wiedemann. Premiered at London Fashion Week at the launch of the Green Carpet Challenge

Bride and her cursed groom

Fairytale world again…

 

 

 

 

collaborative work: natural dye and eco print design by Irit Dulman, felt, natural dyeing, garment design by Vilte Kazlauskaite

Lifetime passion

"It's a lifestyle. It's a lifetime passion. An artist needs to be ambitious and passionate. You don't work nine to five. You breathe your art twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week." (E.Shafak)

collaboration of Vilte & Irit

Belle Armoire

I think I have forgotten to show this feature on the blog. Lovely memories of the Summer too – a feature in Belle Armoire, Summer 2012, volume 12 issue 2, feat. in pg. 18-23.

Many thanks for Svetlana Batura, who made all photography for this article.

Prints

Collaboration with Irit Dulman.

Weld and madder

 

SEDUCTION

Whiteness and purity in the white clouds, lightness of being, weightless flight of the angel’s wings. Ethereal being.

 

photo © Svetlana Batura

Before…

the feathers of the angel touch the soil of the Earth. And for the first time give in to the juices and fruits of the Earth, discover the taste of the soil and water that is running on this Earth, sense every note that the leaf or the fruit bear in itself and erupt on the whole whiteness from heavens. That’s when the angel gets seduced by the mother Earth and soak in its fruits, flowers and juices… Surrender. Feels it on the skin, inside the mouth, Earthy flowers tangling into the hair, mud, water, aroma’s of the Earth in bloom, and sweetness and bitterness of the fruits. There’s nothing about the sin. It’s all about the Earth. The moment the woman is born. SEDUCTION. From the Mother Earth.

 

 

more from SEDUCTION

Animism. Design with the soul.

“The animal world will keep invading and transforming the life of humans represented in a more abstract and less narrative manner.
Fibre and plant are becoming dominant materials animated by organic form and skeleton structures”.

“Primitive matter and organic shapes will embody a need of man longing for a more meaningful and ritualistic relationship with earth and the elements.
Resulting in a revival of animism.
Therefore designers create brut and raw shapes that resemble totemic termite mounds, honeycomb shape, spider web laces and timber structures”.

“Can design have a soul and therefore be animated?”

I have mentioned Li Edelkoort some years ago in one of my posts here and now came across her words again when Irit shared it. There’s so much of the truth and purity in her words about trends (that we already see today!) which echo so well with my own inner feelings and believes.

And the whole trend report of her is so well worth reading:

“Post Fossil - excavating 21st century creation by Lee Edelkoort 2011
Time has come for extreme change
Society is ready to break away from last century for good.
To break with creative conventions, theoretic rules and stigmas that now are questioned, challenged and broken.
To break with a materialistic mentality replacing it with the crafted materialization of modest earth-bound and recomposed matter.
In the aftermath of the worst financial crisis in decades, a period of glamorous and streamlined design for design's sake come to an end.
A new generation of designers retrace their roots, refine their earth and research their history, sometimes going back to the beginning of time.
In this process, they form and formulate design around natural and sustainable materials, favoring timber, hide, pulp, fibre, earth and fire.
Like contemporary cavemen, they reinvent shelter, redesign tools and manmade machines, and conceptualize archaic rituals for a more modest, content and contained lifestyle.
Like a Fred Flintstone of the future.
The animal world will keep invading and transforming the life of humans represented in a more abstract and less narrative manner.
fibre and plant are becoming dominant materials animated by organic form and skeleton structures.
Our relationship with all living organisms is at stake. Therefore humans will share and care for each other.
Soon the world will discover that we are all family.
Ecology and sustainability will no longer be enough.
Primitive matter and organic shapes will embody a need of man longing for a more meaningful and ritualistic relationship with earth and the elements.
Resulting in a revival of animism.
Therefore designers create brut and raw shapes that resemble totemic termite mounds, honeycomb shape, spider web laces and timber structures; at times incorporating biotechnology into the making process to inspire design systems for the future.
Nature is a dominant ingredient in this movement, although no longer used in a naive and aspiring ecological language, but as a mature philosophy fit for newer age. Raising the questions that need to be raised.
Can we do with less to become more?
Can design have a soul and therefore be animated?
Can man find a more meaningful way to consume?
Can we break with the past and reinvent the future?
In general, materials will be matte and humble, however the earth and its hidden riches also invites this generation to employ minerals, alloys and crystals; adding lustre and sometimes even sheen to fossil-like concepts and constructions.
Laquered and polished surfaces are enhancing vegabond finds, unveiling their raw beauty while questioning the survival of the world's economy.
At times these designs will echo the essence of the arte povera movement which is bound to make a revival – soon”

Lidewij Edelkoort

EXPLORING NUNO FELT and ECO PRINT with Vilte Kazlauskaite & Irit Dulman

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! and more details coming your way! But...if you are interested in exploring nuno felt textures and natural eco print with me and Irit Dulman in the island of Aphrodite - Cyprus (can you believe it??? :) reserve the dates this July!

Course I
Beyond the surface. Fabric manipulation in nuno felt dresses + Eco print.
July 17-20

Course II
Wild fibers. Fiber manipulation and raw fleeces in nuno felt accessories + Eco print.
July 21-23

 

 

INFO: viltess@gmail.com

 

P.S.

Based on inquiries we get, I have outlined main differences between 2 courses to make it easier for you to choose or just take both:

Beyond the surface - focuses on creating textures using fabric manipulation. We will also go deep into how to construct a garment, different wool lay out techniques, shrinkage, constructing of the pattern. Irit will teach eco printing and dyeing, and she will focus more on dyeing fabrics and nuno felt.
Second workshop - Wild fibers - focuses on creating textures using raw fleeces + fiber manipulation, which is different than fabric manipulation in the first course. We will create our own fabric from raw fibers and will learn how to give it dimension and combine with all texture from fleece. I will show how to make very light felt with fleeces, but will also cover how to make it thick if preferred. We will not go deep into pattern making and construction in this workshop, it's just for an accessory but completely different materials and techniques than the first one. Irit will also teach eco print and dyeing, but here she will also focus on dyeing raw fleece and fibers (fabrics and felt as well).

 

You can read some information about these courses in Russian here

Or take a peek to a space the workshop will be held at here

The Wool Lab–trends for Summer 2013

It was really an honor to collaborate with the Wool Lab company in their trends booklet for Spring Summer 2013, - a guide to the best wool fabrics and yarns in the world. My pieces were chosen for one of the trends named PURE.

One of the most important things is to bring inspiration to people’s hearts. Isn’t it?

 

To dye for

It’s been really a busy time preparing for my trip to Australia this March to give workshops. In a meantime I managed to give 2 more workshops in Moscow and had real pleasure seeing the students create wonderful things from the wild fibers.

I also opened a real herbal lab in our apartment with lot’s of natural dyeing taking place. And found a beautiful quotation about natural dyes to continue the theme of the natural over the synthetic colours:

“One of the key reasons why natural colors look better than chemical colors because they are not 'pure' color: a natural red, for example, will include blue and yellow, whereas a chemical red will only contain red pigment. The impurities of natural dyes, which may comprise from five to 25 percent of the dye, consist of other hues that are similar to the main one, and it is these mixtures that make natural dyes so beautiful and create their harmony with neighboring natural colors. Where one person will see some purple in a hank of gray yarn, another may see some blue in it. To be able to see the difference is partly genetic, like the ability to curl one's tongue lengthwise, and partly a matter of experience. On the other hand, evenness of a synthetically dyed carpet is flat and uninteresting. Natural dye, precisely because of its unevenness, makes color vibrate or sparkle. And for some people this "imperfection," a sign of the artist's hand working natural substances from the garden or fields, has spiritual overtones.” (AzerbaijanRugs)

 

Some of my natural colours drying and waiting to be felted in. A real burst of colours, longing for Spring?..