I’ve yet to write about the fact that I opened a new studio this summer (I will soon!) but am skipping ahead to share some new work using flowers harvested from the studio dye garden. Back in May I planted Dyer’s Coreopsis, Dyer’s Camomile, Sumac, Hollyhocks, Woad, Madder, Weld, Lady’s Bedstraw, Angelica and Meadowsweet and 3 months later I got to use the first crop of flowers in an ecoprinting project.

I’d dyed some silk scarves using shibori resist patterns and exhaust baths from my last Eco-Spectrum workshopand whilst they were lovely, like any pieces of textiles that sit still for too long, I felt compelled to mess with them some more! I went for a forage around my favourite part of the Wirral, Thurstaston and gathered some branches of Copper Beech, some magical Mugwort (which seems to be my totem plant lately) and some rich brown Dock seeds.

I’m not going to share my entire process because I make my living as a textile teacher and whilst...

Helen Melvin is a textile artist creating landscapes in felt, the fibres for which she colours herself in natural dyes mainly grown in her own working dye garden.

Over the last twenty years she has evolved her own unique style which is created not only by the way she felts using fabrics and fibres but also by her unique use of sustainable dyes.

Helen works with the ancient techniques of feltmaking and natural dyeing in a modern contemporary way which prioritises having a minimal impact on the environment.

Her landscapes are in private collections world wide including Australia, Switzerland, Belgium, USA and the Falkland Islands as well as throughout the UK.

She attracts many visitors to her Summer House gallery, working studio and dye garden when it opens for the annual 'North Wales Helfa Gelf' throughout September.

I was lucky enough to attend a one-to-one training in natural dyeing by Helen back in March 2013 at her lovely home in North Wales. You can find out more about her...