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About Elisabeth, The Lansdowne House, and the colour blue

Elisabeth is a self employed artist, She was trained in Decorative Arts, She works with Natural dyes and Eco-prints. French born, she is based in Glasgow in Scotland where she runs her sustainable studio “The Lansdowne House”. From the old kitchen (her studio) of her Victorian home she works, creates and teaches Natural dyes and Eco-Printing (since the Covid Crisis online live on zoom).

THE TRUE COLOUR OF THE COTINUS

“The True Colour of the Cotinus” is a global Eco-printing project created by French artist Elisabeth Viguie Culshaw in 2020 during the Covid crisis from her Glasgow studio.

Using the online platform Zoom and a dedicated Facebook group, she wanted to provide isolated Eco-printers from all over the world with a communal simple technique to follow.

By summer 2021 over 700 participants have taken part virtually and created blue prints from the Cotinus plant. In 2022 we learn to extract pigment and we had an exhibition in the Glasgow Botanical garden as well as a printalong Masterclass where 30 Botanical printers printed together while online.

Resilience and creativity were the project key focus, friendship and beautiful prints are the result.

If you want to take part in the project look here for future workshops or PDF methods for fabric and paper printing. Taking one workshop or obtaining one method will allow you in the group. https://thelansdownehouseofstencils.com/2021/09/01/the-true-colour-of-the-cotinus-how-to-make-blue-eco-prints-from-cotinus-leaves/

THE INDIGO PLOT in the Glasgow Botanic Garden:

In 2022 I started a Natural Dye Garden in the Glasgow Botanic Garden “The Indigo Plot” https://thelansdownehouseofstencils.com/2022/05/30/theindigoplot-at-the-botanics/ I love the idea of helping people making the connection between plants and colour. As a natural dyer I care for the environment and I aim at working in a sustainable way. The quality of my process and the ingredients I use are important to me and I want to pass this on. In the first year in the dye garden I grew with the help of some volunteers some Woad, Indigo for blue, Madder for red, Genista and Weld for yellow, some dye flowers and a lot of Flax. I shared during workshops and an exhibition in Septembre. I also curated a project with some home growers in Scotland. Together we grew Japanese Indigo and experimented with it.

I am planning in 2023 a Natural Dye Exhibition in the Glasgow Botanical Garden on September 15 – 17. That will include a Masterclass in Natural dyeing using the dye plants grown in “The Indigo Plot”.

But where did I start?

Elisabeth was trained in Decorative Arts by Christie’s and The University of Glasgow in the 1990’s. With strong connections to the Mackintosh Heritage, She pursued a career in the recreation of historic wall treatment and specialised in stencilling with a special emphasis on the Art Nouveau period. She is well known for her interpretation of Mackintosh’s The House for an Art Lover and her most recent recreation work of the Glasgow “Willows tea rooms” from 1903.

She has a strong interest in Community art and she has been running almost yearly programs involving the Community in Art projects, such as The Big Rose, (West of Scotland, Mackintosh Festival 2016) involving over 500 participants across 13 venues. The public was involved in stencilling large Mackintosh roses outdoors creating communal carpets outside Mackintosh buildings.

She was commissioned in 2015 to recreate some interior stencilling first designed in 1903 by designer and architect George Walton in Dunblane in Scotland.

Inspired by her regular travelling in South East Asia since 1995 she gradually moved into the use of more Eco techniques like Indigo, natural dyes and Ecoprinting. She is self trained but also catches specialised workshops with specialist artists such as Aboubakar Fofana for Indigo, Irit Dullman for Ecoprinting as well as learning from local wisdom she finds around her. She organises skill swaps with other artist as she believe we only learn well from teachers we feel passionate about. In 2020 she organised a skill swap in Thailand sharing her Eco-printing methods with some community of dyers and textile artists agains some of their local knowledge.

She runs The Lansdowne House her home based studio since 1990 and in turn has been using it as a private studio, as a school of stencilling and up-cycling and more recently as the online studio for her online live classes. She entertains a long term relationship with her pupils and regularly organises “get together” wether online live or in person.

2017 The Big Banner project saw 13 “Hand stencilled Roses banners” by groups of participants in public locations before an exhibition of those at The Lighthouse design center in Glasgow during the Mackintosh Festival

2019/2020 in Printing in Woodlands, she gathers the public an gardeners in the Woodlands Community garden to learn the art of Ecoprinting working outdoors. An exhibition of communal pieces takes place in the Glasgow Botanical garden in February 2020 with an open day of free crafts workshops.

In the summer of 2020, in the peak of the Covid crisis she launched “The True Colour of the Cotinus” a global Eco-printing project to test the colours you can obtain from the Cotinus (Smoke Bush) leaves. Set to test the prints on paper, in 2021 the emphasis has moved to fabric with another two online workshops. By mid 2021 over 400 participants are involved in sampling leaves on various target materials. Elisabeth comments “the emphasis is not the leaves, nor the prints… its about creating a focus for participants to connect with. The Cotinus is a great leaf to print and the colour blue obtained gives everyone a focus for attention. The creativity involved and the connection it has created is tremendous. The buzz among the group is well worth the hard work I ended up putting in the project. I hope this will culminate in a physical exhibition at some point.”

When at home, Elisabeth works in a sustainable manner in the circular economy, recycling cloth gathered from the local BnB and using leaves from her local park. When purchasing cloth and dyes she invest in community of weavers/dye producers who can benefit from her orders.

She lives in Glasgow with her husband but her circle of friends, family and pupils is international… she says… “The World is my Village”.

She likes… travelling, cooking, gardening, and spending quiet times in her studio.

She is a member of the West of Scotland guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and Applied Art Scotland and the Quilting Guild.

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LEARNING WITH ME

(IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES USING PAYPAL EMAIL ME bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com)

I love sharing my knowlege and I believe the best way of progressing for a tutor is to share and discover new questions, avenues for experiments and learning opportunities. For that reason I have set up a number of workshop in my Studio in Glasgow but also online both using Live sessions on Zoom or Self paced for those who prefer working at their own pace.

Scroll down to find the information and if you have questions email me bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com

FaQ:

What if I miss an online session:

All my sessions are recorded and shared for review for several months.

What if I cant attend a workshop:

All bookings are final but I will try as much as I can to offer you a space in the next session.

What if I want to work in my own pace:

I offer some self paced workshops and some with live options. You have to decide if you want to conform for a time for the live sessions or just plod along at your own pace… The price reflects the lack of live sessions.

How long can I keep the tuition:

Usually for “ever” as long as you keep the accessing details,

How do I speak to you if I am stuck:

I set up a FB page for all queries and we interact in it together with all the other pupils.

To book a space select your workshop and make a payment. You will receive a receipt and within a day or so a confirmation of your space. I am afraid that I am not able to offer refunds on online workshops but I will always try and offer you a space at an alternative date if your circumstances prevent you to complete a workshop on have committed to.

NOW SCROLL DOWN AND DISCOVER WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER YOU:

STUDIO WORKSHOPS: WEST END OF GLASGOW LOCATION:

3 WEEKS BOTANICAL PRINTING ON PAPER COURSE IN MY GLASGOW STUDIO STARTING 22 October 2023

3 weeks introduction to Botanical printing on paper for Art in my lovely Glasgow West end studio. Starts on 3rd May at 6.00pm till 9 pm and weekly after that. All provided, just bring an apron or old clothes and gloves if you have delicate skin. We will explore mordants, dyes and leaves to create wonderful leaf prints and what we can do with them. Suitable for beginners or more advance printers. A sustainable way to create with nature. Sessions last 3 hours, prints to take away at every workshop and learning with each print.

£120.00

INDIGO DYEING WORKSHOP AND VISIT OF THE DYE GARDEN AT THE BOTANICS 12 AUGUST WITH A START AT THE BOTANICS.

Spend a day visiting the glorious Botanic garden of Glasgow before heading back to Elisabeth’s Victorian studio to spend the rest of the afternoon learning to set up a Natural Indigo Vat, learning to use it to dye, making some Shibori fold and clamp pieces. We will also harvest some Fresh Japanese Indigo leaves from The dye garden #theindigoplot and learn how to dye silk with them. This is perfect for beginners but also good for more advanced participants . The workshop will start at 11am and finish around 16 pm

£60.00

ONLINE SELF PACES METHODS (You will receive links to the course and work in your own time) I will be available via a FB group for feed back.

THE TRUE COLOUR OF THE COTINUS ON PAPER – SELF PACED METHOD (NO LIVE SESSIONS)

The True Colour of the Cotinus is a global online project I launched in 2020, it is about Ecoprinting the Cotinus leaves to obtain blue. The PAPER method was finalised in 2020 after two global online testing with 100 participants each. We use facebook to share results. This method gives you the final result and how to get Blue out of your own leaves/paper. It is suitable for beginners … by buying this method you are in the project and will be able to access the Private Facebook group of over 500 participants to post your results and interact.

£30.00

THE TRUE COLOUR OF THE COTINUS SELF PACED ONLINE METHOD FOR FABRIC PRINTING

Was £25, The True Colour of the Cotinus is a global online project I launched in 2020, it is about Eco-printing the Cotinus leaves to obtain blue. The FABRIC METHOD was finalised in 2021 after two global online testing with 100 participants each. We use facebook to share results. This method gives you the final result and how to get Blue out of your own leaves/fabric. It is best for silk and linen but will work for cotton and other material. It is suitable for beginners … by buying this method you are in the project and will be able to access the Private Facebook group of over 500 participants to post your results and interact.

£30.00

LEAVES ON PAPER – START ANY TIME SELF PACED ONLINE COURSE IN BOTANICAL CONTACT PRINTING ON PAPER 12 LESSONS NO LIVE

This is an online course in Botanical Contact Printing on paper. It is perfect for beginners as it teaches step by step. It is based on written instructions, photos and video material, a FB for support and from time to time a live session. 12 lessons, 2 printing ways, several mordanted ways, one bookbinding make. Once the course is online it is yours to keep for two years.

£99.00

PRINT AND WEAVE, AN ONLINE SELF PACED WORKSHOP ABOUT BOTANICALLY PRINTING PAPER AND WEAVING

Print and Weave is an online workshop self paced with no live sessions but video content. It runs in collaboration with Katherine Cowtan, Scottish weaver. It was launched in conjonction with my “Printing in Woodlands” exhibition. Together we will botanical print some paper with two of my techniques and your local leaves and Katherine will guide us in the weaving of it to make paper Art.

£99.00

PRINT DYE AND STITCH, AN ONLINE SELF PACED WORKSHOP ABOUT BOTANICAL PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING

In collaboration with Cassandra Barron this workshop will take place on my Teachable platform. It is completely self paced. With me you will learn two techniques of Botanical printing on paper, Cassandra will then guide you in making 3 different hand stitched books using your prints. This workshop is launched in conjonction with “Printing in Woodlands” the exhibition in Kirkintilloch in the Spring of 2023

£120.00

ECOPRINTING ON PAPER FOR ART – THE PDF METHOD (SELF PACED WORKSHOP NO LIVE)

In this PDF instruction I will share with you my technique developed over several years of Ecoprinting on paper to get clear and colourful prints using Botanical material and Natural dyes. We will explore via the PDF text and a number of videos 3 methods (simmering in dyes, dyes and tannin blankets, Iron blanket, steaming with blankets, texture blankets) on a variety of paper using several natural dyes or tannins. You will learn to: – Select paper – Understand your leaves fresh and dried. – Understand mordants and dyes and extract your dyes from nature – Put together your equipment – Print your paper – Learning to discharge text or designs from your prints – Finish and seal your paper so you can use it for making books, putting on a frame, using for greeting cards… Will be delivered by email link in 24 hours of purchasing

£49.00

ONLINE LIVE WITH ZOOM SESSION AND TUITIONS:

A LEAVES ON PAPER, MY YEAR LONG ONLINE LIVE ON ZOOM – BOTANICAL PRINTING ON PAPER COURSE ONLINE beg. APRIL 2023

Perfect for beginners. In this course I will spend 12 months (12 sessions) teaching you all I know about Eco Printing on paper for Art, from target paper to method, mordant, botanics, printing paste… we will study how the process works and how you can program a great result after learning to understand your results. This is a repeat of 2021 course. With a mix of live online sessions and delivery of instructions by email. Each month provides a new technique. We communicate on zoom and via a FB page for support, there is ongoing conversations and a lot of learning. Small group only

£172.00

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From nothingness to nearly black … 7 shades of blue, Fermenting Indigo with Aboubakar Fofana… I came home in Bali !

I am a textile artist and a lover of blue and I teach Indigo dyeing in Scotland (my next Indigo event) on a regular basis, but I love learning myself and I believe I know so little compared with Master Indigo dyer Aboubakar Fofana so I went all the way to Bali last November to attend one of his workshops on Fermentation Indigo organised by Threads of Life Bali Its a very long way to go for a weeks workshop but The Threads of Life’s premises set in the Bebali dye garden are so well suited to Indigo dyeing that it was very well worth the effort.

I did think it would be interesting but I did not realise I would get this exceptional feeling of  “coming home” … I though it would be about blue… but it was about a beautiful process, mainly about a communion with nature and how you can understanding it by looking at it, smelling it, mixing it, waiting, recording it and off course accepting the result a beautiful vat dye called Indigo, blessing it, maintaining it and finally getting blue from it.

We were a small group of about 12 meeting on the first day of the workshop, such an international group, Rachel, Margot… from somewhere in Australia, Prairie from Thailand, someone from Bengladesh, two ladies from the US … many different expectations, many different expertise, one aim… learning from Aboubakar.

Him, a master of his Art in complete communion with the huge fermentation vats he creates out of African Indigo,  but also a tired traveller that morning, Bali customs had held him for many hours the night before to test the dried mud and the Indigo fermented balls he had brought in his travel bag as a true Alchemist style… may be they were looking for the secret potion they did not find… William Ingram who runs The Threads of Life would be our father and our scientist for the week. I though him as a “frustrated teacher” wanting to find the science behind each process… he makes my day every time he can explain the chemistry behind the magic. I did not get the chance to join a chemistry class in my young days and I am still trying to find out how things work in a recurring manner… Pung the chief dyer of the Bebali garden but also the director of the Bebali foundation  which supports artisans through Indonesia in keeping their techniques and their traditions. Pung is a constant source of information, a smiling source of information, profoundly involved in the local community and so proud of his team.

And we start… Aboubakar is very straight with us… don’t you think this is about Blue… its about you understanding the process… you will grind, mix, smell, stir, understand… make it happen, and if you are lucky you will get to see the fermented vat active… we did not… one week was not enough for the little fermented balls to get their magic going… but I have recorded the smell of African fermented indigo in my head for any future tries… and we went back to the grinding mill… Lets work with paste now, lets reduce… two reduced vats using the Fructose method… one with fructose, one with sugar cane, lets learn from the eruption of our slake lime… lets measure Ph, and temperature, let it happen… by tomorrow surely there will be some blue… one can hope…

But if there is not… the Bebali garden’s vats will do nicely (3 huge vats of 300 liters… yes yes monstrous huge vats…) !!!

Can we dye please… I have crossed half of the world to come and make some blue cloth… please can I dye now????  No yet says the Master… now you have to learn to clean and prepare your cloth… May be tomorrow… OHHH ! Sheer frustration…. 7 small squares of cloth are getting boiled and stirred in Ash water… May be tomorrow.

And today… we open the lids, and we stir, and we smell, and we take the temperature and the Ph… not yet says the Master…. but you can start with the Bebali vats… Pung said yes you can… but wait though… you have to first fit some nets at the bottom… you don’t want to disturb the bottom of the vats…

Please can we dye sir? My hands are aching to be blue and my nails are still so clean… I want to make pretty patterns on a scarf and take it home to show off…

Not yet first you have to master your shades… its not about the pretty pattern its not about the blue… you still don’t understand you silly children its about the process… you must learn the process…

Look now this is what I want you to do… you must dip your squares of purest cotton (now ever so clean) in this vat once, twice, three times as many times as it takes but you must have 7 shades… starting with white and then the colour of nothingness (somewhere between white and blue… almost nothing but still something on this cloth… its beautiful )  … and finish at almost black… its still blue not quite black but so dark the uneducated eye would think it is black…

How many times please sir? As many times as you need to… you will have to stop talking now, you will have to concentrate, you will have to slow down and breathe gently and listen to the water floating in the vats while counting, you have to take turn and learn to wait, you have to learn to observe, your 7 shades will gradually be born, you have to follow a gentle pattern, they have to play blue like a melody, no discordance no big jumps, the right progression…

Will this not take forever sir? I have dipped this cloth at least 15 times, my mind is so tired… please Master am I there yet?

Well you tell me … it is your cloth after all and you have to learn to play your own music… Do you like this tune ? Are you happy with your own result… I cant tell you it is about you liking your own work !

Ohhhh! Master I don’t want to make a pretty pattern any more now I want to play the most delicate melody with my blue cloth… please can I have more time?

Well I am afraid a great melody is only as good as the paper it is written on … if your cloth is not “finished” properly it will not last… you need to rinse, rinse, and rinse again… until your hands are aching from it. And then only you will be able to say if you love your Melody…. And then you can make pretty patterns… Lets rinse more…

Now you can make pretty patterns… When we are all done we will listen to every one’s melody… Look is it not so beautiful????

Never have I achieved so much and so little at a workshop, this time no suitcase full of Artwork, one beautiful scarf stitched and dipped in an interesting Shibori pattern… a beautiful loose weave cotton woven in Bali and part of the From Farmer to Fabric program  of the Threads of Life… I know now every time I will wear my scarf someone in Bali will benefit from my purchase. But more importantly 7 little squares of beautifully dyed Blue cloth… perfect record of my progression on a process taught to me by Aboubakar…. I feel so proud of them, they are the proof of my understanding of the process… I am so very happy…

On the last day we displayed all our melodies on a table and surprise… all melodies are perfect but still they are different ever so slightly they are all so stunning… see for yourself.

This was such a long way to go but I have learned so much, a new technique, playing music with blue, an infinite patience… I feel in complete communion with a group of dyers, with a community, with even a Master dyer.

My hands did get so blue at the end… it took several weeks for my nails to be fully clean… I will cherish my squares of blue for ever they are by far my most difficult piece of work and I am so proud of them.

Aboubakar Fofana teaches Indigo at The Thread of Life every year. I highly recommend it…. but not if you want to make many pretty things… only join in if you want to be in true communion with the Blue Stuff.

Love

Betty xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Why I love my Journey as an Eco Artist !

The other morning I checked my art supplies, I though they were a bit low before the next day workshop and so… time to replenish… on my way to … The Kelvingrove Park…. in the West end of Glasgow, walking distance from my studio, it is lovely and a little hub of nature in the centre of the city. I took a lovely morning walk, I had a chat with the dog walkers, found some lovely autumn leaves, horse chestnut, some oak, some dried maples all in my large bag. I even stopped by An Clachan the friendly coffee shop by the children’s play park. They make a wonderful coffee and a great flap jack. After that… I went home and Eco Printed.

How about that for work life balance !

Eco Printing is a wonderful creative technique at every level.  Beginners to my workshops can produce beautiful pieces from early days, and I love how versatile the technique can be wether you are an artist, you love textile, or work with mix media, the prints you make help you mapping your creativity. Different seasons, different colours, different leaves or printing surfaces, different colours… Some call it magical but really it is chemistry !

For myself I love the resist papers I get, the negative prints so to speak… the paper blankets which give me beautiful rusty images. They are unpredictable but always beautiful.

I am an Eco Artist and I love my journey, no online shopping for me, no fighting the motorway traffic to the local Craft shops, no huge bill for specialist paint… My main ingredient… Scottish leaves  ! so when I need some… I just take a walk in the park. How amazing is that !

I will be running my next week end Eco Printing next October in my own Studio in Glasgow details https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eco-print-your-scottish-leaves-week-end-tickets-63310032010 We will be drinking great coffee and printing Scottish leaves in my Big Aluminium Pot, we will keep cosy by the fire and make amazing and unique prints. If you are a beginner you will be blown away by the result, if you have printed before… join me for more creative fun.

I hope to see you there.

Love

Betty x

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Workshops, Contact details…

Join my mailing list if you would like to hear about any new events… courses/workshop I set up

You can contact me @ bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com. I record my activities on my Face Book page  and post loads of photos on my  Instagram page

“The workshop and your tuition was inspiring. I went home created an art space and began designing…”

My name is Elisabeth Viguie Culshaw, French born Glasgow based eco up-cycler, I studied Decorative Arts with Christies. I worked with Heritage stencilling and have recreated schemes from the Mackintosh Heritage in Scotland. I travel to Asia every year and I have developed from my trips a love for Eco Techniques. Indigo dyeing, Eco dyeing, Eco Printing. I started my Eco journey in northern Thailand with lovely ladies from the Hmong Hill tribes.

I train with the best in the land Eco Printing with Irit Dulman from Israel, Indigo with Aboubakar Fafo from Mali. I am relentless testing my art.

I am passionate about sharing my skills, here in the UK but also in Asia where I run sharing skills program… this year I visited Mann craft  in Sakon Nakhon, and Nussara Tiengkate from Banraijaisook  from Chiangmai to learn from them about Indigo while sharing my Eco Printing in their community.

I share my skills in Scotland and elsewhere running workshops and doing collaborative work. I team with local galleries to share my art pieces. In my studio there is always an Indigo vat on the go and a pile of leaves ready to be Eco Printed.

JOIN ME ON A WORKSHOP IN PERSONAL OR ONLINE 

During COVID19 I am offering some starter packs in the techniques I teach… those will offer all ingredients you need and a pdf/video tuition to the participants. Those are available at any time and the pdf is available for multiple uses.

NEW ONLINE CLASSES:

During Covid19, I am setting up some online classes to allow you to keep your creativity flowing. I am using the platform zoom as a support for the classes. You need a lap top or a smart phone to access via a weblink I will send you. It is a very simple process and will allow us to keep interacting in a friendly manner while you keep learning and creating…

11 June I will be running an eco printing workshop in French on zoom  “Atelier Virtuel d’Impression Vegetale sur tissus et papier Tickets

12 June I will run a bookbinding workshop for eco printer and mono printers on paper Tickets

19 June I will run a Eco Printing workshop on how to create textured background for Eco Prints Tickets

25 June I will run a workshop on how to set up an Indigo vat and to dye Shibori… this is a two sessions (25 and 26 June at mid day)  workshop Tickets

26 June I will run one workshop on how to Eco Print on paper workshop Tickets

 

For those workshops you need access to a computer and a good speed internet to be able to use it for streaming. If you have any questions contact me.

 

FACE TO FACE WORKSHOPS:

6 august for 8 evenings, Upcycling Furniture workshop, learn to recycle your furniture and the way to prepare it before hand. Over eight weeks you learn various techniques including stencilling, decoupage, chalkpaint… to book here

11th august for 8 evenings, Upcycling Furniture workshop, learn to recycle your furniture and the way to prepare it before hand. Over eight weeks you learn various techniques including stencilling, decoupage, chalkpaint… here

6 August for 4 afternoon, Blue Prints, 4 weeks workshop printing Botanical and Blue, a 4 session workshop using 4 mark making techniques using the colour blue or botanics like cyanotype, eco printing, Logwood dyeing, Indigo Shibory, perfect for stitchers, quilters, multimedia crafters… beginners… Book here

26-27 September – Eco Print your Scottish leaves on Silk week end (this will include some basic Eco Printing information)  in my Glasgow Based studio Book here

24-25 October – Eco-Print, Dye and Stitch a creative workshop Week end in Edinburgh, Granton’s Hub. If you want to read about it and book look Here

18th September, Eco Printing day workshop in Glasgow, A special day for embroiderers, quilters and anyone interested in textile art. Book here

19-20 september 2020 Indigo Blue retreat in Glasgow in my West end based Studio If you want to read about it or book look Here

Residential workshops

I teach creative residential retreats at Gartmore House in Scotland in the Stirling area If you want to read about them or book please check their sites Here 

Summer School 2020 (for the moment this class is still running)

I will be teaching a 4 days summer school in Lamlash Arran in the Summer 2020 with Cassandra Barron, we will Eco dye, Eco Print, Indigo dye and Bookbind. This is the perfect retreat for creative participants who want to carry an all around project. Only 10 participants will take part and we will use inspiration from our surrounding. If you would like to pre-book look here  If you would like more information email me  bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com

Textile Trip to Thailand 2020

I will be leading a 12 days textile tour to Thailand starting on the 28th October 2020.

We will visit 3 cities, specialised textile markets, meet some communities and textile artists and local wisdom keepers, we will take workshops in Indigo, Natural dyes, weaving… we will visit Indigo country and experiment the Festival of the Lights in Chiangmai. I hope that you will want to join my small group of 6 travellers.  If you would like information about the itinerary and to book please email me bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

ECO PRINTING

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Eco Printing is the technique of contact printing using Botanical material it does not involve any additional paint or colour. I run regular one and two days workshops in that technique.

INDIGO DYEING AND SHIBORI

I use Indigo Dye to create sharp patterns on cloth using the Japanese technique of Shibori. Folding and clamping, dip dyeing … I run regular one and two days workshops using that technique.

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UP-CYCLING FURNITURE (booking details above) 

Week end and block of 8 evening classes in Glasgow, and regular one and two days workshops in Edinburgh with The Remakery

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STENCILLING

One day workshop

I am running Discovering Mackintosh stencilling workshops in Glasgow, we visit a Mackintosh Property to look at some heritage stencilling before spending the afternoon learning the technique. Small group.  Dates and booking details above

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PRIVATE COURSES

I can organise private courses in stencilling or up cycling furniture, Eco printing and Indigo as well as Team day out, Birthday parties, I regularly work with schools. Email me @ bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com for detail.
Stencils in the Mackintosh style are available here

Facebook page The Lansdowne House Mackintosh stencils

Instagram page Here and Here

Twitter : Here

My Studio:

In the fashionable West end of Glasgow you will find just a short way away from the University and its park, a lovely crescent with large residents gardens. Around those green heavens, Victorian tenements flats and large town houses have been standing for over 160 years offering spacious accommodation and working spaces to the residents of the area.

Its a lovely, green, quiet environment where we have set up roots a long while ago and it is there that in the stone floor workshop with the roaring fire in the winter and the fresh patio in the summer I design my stencils, I wax painted furniture for my clients. This is where I run workshops and design special projects.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his Art Nouveau (Glasgow Style in Glasgow) designs caught my interest many years ago and stencilling has always been my preferred technique and I will offer you my expertise for any project you have in mind.

Children classes:

I can organise stencilling classes for any size of party and I have experience in working with groups and classes.

I offer:

– ready made stencils in the style of Mackintosh, you can find those on Here just email me on bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com with your requests.

– I will design on commissions for you, for any design email me on bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com

– I offer a commission service and will stencil your interior, office etc… for details email me on bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com

finally if you can’t find what you are looking for just drop me a line.

Happy stencilling.

Betty xx

Dyeing Blue with Woad plants – Spring 2023

Using Natural dyes for colours seems to be on the agenda of many nowadays. It seems that boiling a few plants from our back garden into hot water and stir while adding some recycled bed linen to make new curtains is going to save the world. It is more sustainable and better than using a sachet of Dylon dye in the washing machine….

I love the idea of using Natural dyes for my needs but not the idea of creating new needs to be able to use Natural dyes and I like when my Natural dyes come from the growing or the foraging I do when I am teaching or demonstrating. One of my aims is always to help the public making the connection between plants/tree/roots with the colours they generate, making sure they leave me knowing the difference between a dye and a colour (I really dislike Red cabbage water being used as a dye) and understanding how to use a thorough process.

So today when demonstrating at The National Museum for Rural Life in Scotland using Natural dyes I only used dyes I had grown and/or foraged… that would be Woad leaves for blue and Dyers’s broom and Gorse for yellow. It was very exciting as the Woad was grown from my own seeds and it was the first time I was dyeing from Woad leaves very early in the season.

The Woolly festival is held at The National Museum of Rural life once a year over a whole week end. It features all animals producing wool and some related activities. For the second year I have been sharing some Natural dyes practises. It is very exciting. I am only using plants that can be grown or foraged locally. I make a point at talking about traditions and going through the whole process.

Today I demonstrated how to create a quick vat (Hydrosulphate reducing agent) using the extracted pigment from the Woad leaves, and use it for dyeing wool.

In my studio I very often prefer more “Natural” modes of reduction but those vats dont travel well and they take time to reduce so hydrosulphate is a good compromise as it reduces really fast. Specially where the pigment available is quite low.

I set up the vat first thing and used it beginning of the afternoon. I dyed a skein of wool and some silk pieces, I only had a few small plants and I made sure that all the pigment had been used up before discarding the vat.

If you are curious about the process this is what i did, the method is my adaptation from Jenny Dean’s tried and tested dyeing with fresh Woad.

You will need:

  • A stainless steel dye pot
  • Water
  • A heat source
  • Spoons/scales etc.
  • A ph measuring tool
  • A thermometre
  • Some Soda ash
  • Sodium Hydrosulphate
  • Some woad leaves (3/4 plants ready to be harvested).

Process:

1 – Wash your leaves and break them in small pieces

2 – Place them in the dye pot and pour over them a full kettle of hot water.

3 – Cover and leave to steep for 1 hour. The liquid should take a reddish brown colour.

4 – After the hour has passed I would take the leaves out.

5 – Add a small quantity of soda ash until the mix has got a ph of at least 9/10

6 – Aerate the liquid by pouring quite strongly the liquid in another container and keep transferring it between that new dish and your existing one. A least 10 times to create a lot of bubbles. By adding oxygène Into thé extraction you will create the blue pigment. But that is not all … now you need to reduce it to make a vat.

7 – Add about 20 g of Sodium hydrosulphate. Stir slowly in concentric mouvments. Some blue bubbles should start appearing in the middle of this container. Cover and wait for at least 30 minutes. You will see an opalescent film appearing on the surface of the vat

8 – The vat should be ready to use and the dye water will look yellow/greenish but when you take an item out it will look yellow until it oxisises. Then it will turn blue as oxygen hits it and that is your item dyed and colour fast.

9 – Always wet your wool first before plunging into your vat. Do not drip, and work slowly… and when your dyeing is completed rinse your wool slowly in lukewarm water to avoid felting it. Add a vinegar rinse just before the end to neutralise the high alkaline environment created by the vat.

10 Have fun dyeing with your vat.

If you would like to know more about this technique and other Indigo vats processing email me bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com to find out about my online and in person learning opportunities.

Best wishes.

Elisabeth x

The True Colour of the Cotinus greeting cards

In may 2020 I launched The True Colour of the Cotinus project, an International online Botanical Printing Project. Over 700 Botanical printers all over the world have taken part creating beautiful prints on paper and fabric.

For The True Colour of the Cotinus exhibition in Septembre 2022 I published a set of Greeting cards featuring my own prints. The aim is to provide funding for the project.

In 2023 I will be launching The True Colour of the Cotinus on leather in a workshop in June. The event will soon be available for booking.

For now if you would like a unique set of cards please click the link below and order it. By making the payment your postal address will be shared with me and your cards will be despatched.

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One set of 4 greeting cards (4 designs) with envelope square (UK postage)

With this option you will be ordering a set of 4 greeting cards with 4 different designs. They come with high quality envelopes. They are printed by a small company in England on recycled paper. The prints are of my own Botanical printing on paper Cotinus images and only a few sets are produced. They will be despatched within a short while.

£13.00

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One set of 4 greeting cards about the Cotinus prints (with enveloppes) overseas despatch

With this option you will be ordering a set of 4 greeting cards with 4 different designs. They come with high quality envelopes. They are printed by a small company in England on recycled paper. The prints are of my own Botanical printing on paper Cotinus images and only a few sets are produced. They will be despatched within a short while. This is for overseas despatch.

£17.00