Artist- Tracy Flanagan

Influenced by India Flint, Irit Dulman, and the large community of botanical artists across the world, I dye and ecoprint cloth and paper using ecologically sustainable local leaves, flowers, and pigments. Natural dye products and plants extracted from the earth combined with heat and water, transfer brilliant and unexpected plant colors and images to fabric and paper. Starting with discards, I upcycle, reuse, and rebirth these fibers, telling a new story of connection between place, fiber, and family.  I transform these ecoprints using stitch and collage, into art that can be touched, worn, and gazed upon by their owners.  As a textile artist, writer, and physician, I believe that hand marked fabric and paper is ‘everyday art’ that can wrap and heal the body and spirit. With these explorations, I am stitching a connection between the bountiful land of our SF Bay area and the everyday artful living of our families and community. This manipulation of cloth and paper mirrors the work of life– to honor what has come before yet continuously reinvent ourself anew.

Process-Botanical dyes and Ecoprinting

I use cellulose (cotton, linen, hemp, and bamboo) and protein (wool, silk) fabrics, each prepared differently through prewashing and mordanting so that the cloth will accept the dye and plant colors. As much as possible I try to upcycle and rebirth discarded natural fiber garments and fabric, softened by and enriched with history, time, and wear.

Variations in color and imprints are a result of this hand process of dipping the fiber, placing leaves, and tight bundling for the heated pot. With heat, these plants and flowers of the Bay Area discharge their color and image to the fabric or paper, often with thrilling and unexpected results. With changing seasons, time of day, and individually unique trees, these botanical print designs constantly surprise.