To make dyes, I collect some plant material locally here in Vermont or in Maryland where I grew up: walnuts, butternuts, wildflowers, weeds, lichens (where abundant),black oak bark and Osage orange wood. In my Vermont garden, I grow Japanese indigo (Polygonum tinctorium) and madder (Rubia tinctorium).

I also use imported indigo, madder roots and cochineal bugs - a type of scale insect harvested from Punta cactus. Colored clay soils can be also be applied as pigments when combined with a soymilk binder.

Prior to dyeing, cellulose fiber such as hemp or cotton needs to be scoured in soap and soda ash to remove natural oils or residues left by processing. The fabric is then soaked in a series of alum and tannin mordant baths for several hours or days. Occasionally I use an iron solution to deepen or "sadden" colors. Silk usually only needs a wash with mild soap and warm water before mordanting once or twice in alum.

Most plants (as well as cochineal bugs) can be chopped up and simmered to produce dye liquor. I use a variety of dyeing methods: cold or solar-heated soaking, applied heat or direct application over a soymilk glaze. Indigo needs to be dissolved in an alkaline bath and reduced (oxygen removed from the solution) either chemically or by bacterial action. Sometimes I clamp or bind the fabric with wood blocks or wrap the fabric up with pieces of metal, rocks or plant material to create an interesting pattern. Secondary colors such as purple or green are usually the result of over-dyeing.

To finish the dyeing process, the fabric is washed in soap and hot water. Silk is given a final rinse in vinegar to restore its sheen.

Successful use of natural dyes is an art, not unlike gourmet cooking. Learning that art takes time and patience and I have had many excellent teachers. For me, creating works that are both beautiful and useful from the living colors of my surroundings is a most rewarding endeavor.