Plants for pollinators - Creeping Thistle - Cyanotype & stitch - Eco Textile Art

Plants for pollinators 1 - Creeping Thistle - Cyanotype & stitch This piece is called Creeping Thistle for Colettes fodiens and is one of a series of works made to highlight the importance of 'weeds' for our amazing pollinators. The creeping thistle is one of the plants vilified in the Weeds Act of 1959 but is a very important source of nectar for our bees and other pollinators. I made it by painting scrap natural fabric in cynotype dyes. I then hid it amongst plants in the field margins at Lytes Cary, for days, or in some cases weeks. All of the cyanotypes were hidden in the places where bees might rest, or overwinter as eggs, larvae, or in the case of bumblebees, hibernating queens. When I retrieved the cyanotype, I washed and bleached it in an ash bath. Then I toned it with leftover green tea. Finally I stitched on the Creeping Thistle with vintage threads and mounted into an unglazed frame. Media: scrap fabric painted with cyanotype dyes, bleached with ash and toned with green tea, stitched with vintage threads. In unglazed box frame measuring 30cm x 30cm Postage in UK only but if you would like me to post overseas, please get in touch so we can discuss our options