Portfolio > Collected Color I - XI

Collected Color X Cotton Collection
cotton sateen and broadcloth, wild dye plant species collected in Norman, OK, custom maple frames
h 34.5" x w 38" x d 1.5"
Collected Color IX Silk Collection
silk weaves, wild dye plant species collected in CO and OK, custom maple frames
h 34.5" x w 30" x d 1.5"
Collected Color XI Diptych
cotton sateen, wild dye plant species collected in Norman, OK, custom maple frames
h 14.75" x w 11" x d 1.5"
Collected Color VII
(Oklahoma to Montana)
cotton sateen and broadcloth, silk, dye plant species collected in KS, NE, WY, UT, urban forest reclamation's, ID, MT, CO, NM, custom maple frames
h 47” x w 47” x d 1.75”
Collected Color VIII Quercus & Rhus
cotton sateen, wild dye plant species collected in Norman, OK, custom maple frames
h 15” w 15” x d 1.75”
Collected Color VI Northbound
(Oklahoma to Michigan)
cotton sateen and broadcloth, handwoven thai hemp, silk, dye plant species collected OK, MO, KY, OH, IN, MI, MI upper peninsula, WI, SD, KS, custom maple frames
h 36.5” x w 59” x d 1.5”
Collected Color V Summer 2011
cotton sateen, wild and cultivated dye plant species collected in Norman, OK, custom maple frames
h 39” x w 23” x d 1.5”
collected color, botanical dyes
cotton sateen and broadcloth, dye plant species collected in Norman, OK, custom maple frames
h 14” x w 67” x d 1.5”
Collected Color IV West Bound
(Oklahoma to California)
cotton broadcloth, handwoven thai hemp, dye plant species collected in NM, UT, NV, CA, OR, CO, custom maple frames
h 46” x w 47” x d 1.5”
Collected Color IV West Bound
detail
gallardia flower tops from friend's garden, fresh Eucalyptus leaves
collected color, botanical dyes
cotton broadcloth and sateen, wild and cultivated dye plant species collected in Norman, OK, custom pine frames
h 70” x w 12.5” x d 1.5”
collected color, botanical dyes
cotton sateen, dye plant species collected in OK, NM, MO, GA, VA, NC, AL, PA, MA, ME, NY, custom pine frames
h 37” x w 59” x d 1.5”

‘Collected Color’ is an ongoing series mapping color and place through the collection, identification and documentation of dye plants, geographic locations and water sources throughout the country.

For several summers my husband and I, along with our dog Butternut, packed up our VW camper and headed north, making an annual exodus from the brutal Oklahoma heat. We travel slowly, navigating our way through small towns and dirt roads using a good ole’ paper bound atlas.

We drive US state highways and local roads with forty quart size Mason jars on the roof. The ecology of every place varies. Before the dye plants are collected they are identified and gathered with mindfulness to the environment. The plants are wrapped in natural fabrics such as cotton, hemp, or silk that are prepared in my dye studio prior to departure, then packed into glass jars with cloth and left to marinate to imprint the color and pattern onto the cloth.

The smaller collections are made with Oklahoma’s wild flora dye plants as well as those cultivated in my dye garden.

View the Chromatopia series to see about how I repurposed the scrap fabric from Collected Color.