graham keegan dyes with foraged plants

scarf_folded

On assignment for Cloth Paper Scissors magazine in December, I spent a day with LA textile designer Graham Keegan. He uses plants such as bougainvillea and sumac from the streets of his Silver Lake neighborhood to dye accessories and bulk yardage. I got to help him pick Peruvian pepper on Sunset Boulevard, brew the leaves into a dye bath, and block-print a scarf in two shades of olive.

stir
Was I in an artist’s studio or a witch’s lair? It was a little hard to tell at times.

I took all the photos for the article, too, which was a first for me. My story is in the July/August issue, but you can catch a sneak peek below.

stamping
Block printing mordant onto a rayon scarf
scarf_lift
Checking the color — it’s almost there.
swatches
I loved sifting through these dyeing experiments scribbled with notes, and I couldn’t stop taking photos of them!

2 thoughts on “graham keegan dyes with foraged plants”

Comments are closed.