I am Marta Badia Marin, sharing in this website my learning, practice and passion for natural dyes. I love the colours, depth and richness that you can obtain, and infinite range – they are mesmerising.
By profession Clinical Psychologist and I have learned that allowing creativity into any kind of work has always proved a success.
Creativity unlocks and reveals building meaning and helping us rebuild our sense of self – with confidence, an identity.
Natural dyeing offers many chance encounters built into its various stages. Creativity becomes a conversation with nature and natural processes. It is at once challenging, grounding and rewarding.
This is how ‘Nature Dyes It’ started. I found a way of integrating my work as a therapist with art, making sustainable fashion and a life that includes gardening, walking and exercising, exploring, finding, creating, letting go, and sometimes just waiting.
It is fascinating finding out more about our local plants, which ones produce long-lasting colour, and what time of the year they yield their deepest saturations etc.
I have found great passion for the regular irregularity of the art and science in natural dyes. Nature expressing itself colouring cloths, paper, stone, even my studio floor. The colourful imprints manifest underlying chemical reactions, the effects of gravity, density, flows, temperatures, we get to observe some of the complexities of our world.
Getting from natural plant to dyed fabric involves many processes: extraction, mordanting, folding, sewing, drawing, painting, pressing, curating.
History is full of many traditions in all civilisations where we can learn from about the art and science of natural dyeing. My crafty friends and students are great sources of learning. Practice makes perfect in the making, the surprises, the mistakes, the mysteries to ponder about.
A work of caution
The use of natural dyes do not always equate with safety. Some plants or parts are toxic and some traditional substances and usages involved in the dyeing processes are far from safe or sustainable in today’s world ⚠️ .
Our planet’s health is seriously endangered. I make ensure that my creative practice is informed by sustainable principles.
A little history
A few years ago I reflected back and realised that taking on ‘textiles’ was not as random as it might appear even to myself.
My father owned a small textiles shop in Barcelona and my childhood is full of memories of patterns and smells, and the fabrics, warm or cool, itchy/sticky/peachy. I loved those large rolls of endless meters that my mum was to turn into lovely things to wear.
She, in turn, comes from a long tradition of women in the business of tailoring, sewing, and embroidery. They excelled at their work, thanks to her, many wealthy lucky women dressed up like goddesses.
Amalia, does find it hilarious that I now own my own sewing machine, let alone designing my own fabrics.
Getting out and about
I enjoy organising and running talks or hands-on workshops. As I am keen to share the beautiful things that nature dyes.
One-off designs for customised orders and design briefs for some fabric, a dress, or a t-shirt, yarns for your next crochet or knitting projects. Feel free to drop me a line to discuss a project.
Understanding nature helps my understanding of human nature and our different colourful and complex emotions. To find out more about my work as a psychologist, you can find me in LinkedIn. With the joys of new technologies we can be anywhere in the planet.