Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: natural

Create With Waste

I'm so excited about creating things I need from items I would usually throw in the bin. Yes, I guess it makes me a little odd but it's how I'm made. Thrifty, resourceful and creative!

Carving or whittling has long been on my list of skills to master. Probably since I was young and read about someone in a book whittling a stick. I even own some carving tools but somehow they never made it out of the packet. It all changed however, when I saw Lotte carving a pair of earrings out of an avocado stone. It's become somewhat of an obsession around here since then with the girls joining in and me buying avocados even though they are ridiculously expensive at the moment.

The avocado stone is so soft, it's easy to work with and great for a beginning carver like me. We've made buttons, pendants and I've had a go at carving a little fellow. The buttons look great once they've been sanded and polished.

So far we've used Haas and Shepherd avocado stones for carving, The Haas stones are lovely but the Shepherds go a funny white colour once they are cut. I'm not letting those stones go to waste – I've chucked them in the freezer so I can have a go at avocado dyeing.

April 26, 2018
Create With Waste

I'm so excited about creating things I need from items I would usually throw in the bin. Yes, I guess it makes me a little odd but it's how I'm made. Thrifty, resourceful and creative!

Carving or whittling has long been on my list of skills to master. Probably since I was young and read about someone in a book whittling a stick. I even own some carving tools but somehow they never made it out of the packet. It all changed however, when I saw Lotte carving a pair of earrings out of an avocado stone. It's become somewhat of an obsession around here since then with the girls joining in and me buying avocados even though they are ridiculously expensive at the moment.

The avocado stone is so soft, it's easy to work with and great for a beginning carver like me. We've made buttons, pendants and I've had a go at carving a little fellow. The buttons look great once they've been sanded and polished.

So far we've used Haas and Shepherd avocado stones for carving, The Haas stones are lovely but the Shepherds go a funny white colour once they are cut. I'm not letting those stones go to waste – I've chucked them in the freezer so I can have a go at avocado dyeing.

April 26, 2018
Lots To Love

I have no patterns for my latest craft. There are no stitches to count. No special tools or complicated instructions. Just some raffia and a needle. What's not to love?

And yet for all the simplicity I can make the baskets as complicated and unique as I like. I'm completely in love with the elegant simplicity, infinite possibilities for customisation and creative expression I can see with basket weaving. I can make coasters, placemats, plates, bowls, bags and baskets. I can change the shape and size. I can add handles or not. Hell I can even customize those handles! All I need is my imagination.

PS – I'm having a mini break next week while I'm off on camp. Five days in the bush, teaching eco-dyeing. Yeah!

April 5, 2018
Natural Dyeing With Gum Leaves

I was so happy to get back to the Darebin Parklands recently so that I could forage eucalyptus leaves for natural dyeing. When I was last there, I'd seen some gorgeous gum leaves on the ground that were all mottled and multi-coloured. I'm not sure why they drop from the tree or how they get their colours but they were just so beautiful. I was inspired to try gum leaves by the beautiful wall hanging my friend Max made out of wool she had dyed herself.

I've already tried my hand at dyeing with sour grass flowers and acacia blossoms. I was keen to add some more colours to my rainbow of naturally dyed wool. I have this inkling of an idea that I want to make crochet something for myself to wear using wool I have dyed with plants I have foraged.

For this dye bath I recycled the water that had been used for eco dying some paper bundles. As well as water there were also aluminium tins and copper rods in the pot. I love the deep, deep brown colour I got for the dye water.

Dyeing With Eucalyptus Leaves

Big handful of gum leaves

Couple of litres of water

Stainless steel pot

Stainless steel bowl

50g wool

Bring the pot to the boil.

Simmer for a couple of hours.

Cool and strain into a stainless steel bowl.

Add your skein of wool.

Leave for at least 24 hours.

Rinse off excess dye.

Hand to dry in the shade.

Next: I'm going to try and dye with acacia pods. I'm hoping they're in season soon!

October 28, 2017
Write Things Down!

I take notes. I keep records. I make patterns. Most of the time. I made this wallet last year when I was in Canberra visiting my folks. I like to take some craft with me when I'm travelling. Having something I can do with my hands grounds and centres me when I am away.

The wallet is made from dry kangaroo skin that has been vegetable tanned. Dry means that there is no sealer on the leather and it isn't protected from the elements. You can get roo skin that has been treated and will resist water etc but it leaves an oily residue on paper.

I wanted to find a way to protect the dry leather that was 100% natural and I had an inkling that burnishing may be the go. When you rub the leather with wood or a smooth stone, you're burnishing it. I can't tell you the technical details of what it does to the skin because I couldn't find any online. In fact there wasn't much info online at all. So I made it up. And because I was away, I didn't write it down. I just did it. There was some beeswax rubbed on the leather either before or after the burnishing.

And now I have this gorgeous wallet with an incredible patina from age and use. The oils in my fingers have deepened the colour and made it all glossy. I love it but have no idea how to recreate it! Next time I take craft away with me, I'll be sure to pack a pencil and paper so I can take notes along the way!

If you want to learn how to make a simple leather pouch, I'll be back at this year's Village Continuum Festival teaching an Introduction to Leathercraft.

September 9, 2017
Savouring The Pleasures Of Making

In my quest to declutter and organise the house I'm uncovering creative projects that haven't seen the light of day for years. Organising cupboards is always a dangerous and distracting business – you just never know what you're going to find buried right at the back! I found a whole lot of cardboard, gorgeous sheets of A4 paper and a stack of A5 paper. All just waiting to be made into books. One of my many passions is bookbinding. I adore books. Reading, writing, collecting and reviewing them on my A Little Bookshelf blog.

I spent what was meant to be a couple of hours yesterday finishing these books. The first one went so quickly that I decided to finish all the books in my craft hoard. Nothing like the start of a new year to get motivated! These books are Oriental side stitched books and are made with acid free papers and sewn with linen thread. The one on top has an illustrated story inside for my daughters. Like all good things, it took a lot longer than I had anticipated.

Ever since I attended an Eco Printing Spring Circle late last year, I have been more mindful of my thoughts while I am making. And I noticed something interesting while I was making these books. At the start when things were going well I felt happy and pleased. It was easy and quick. I thought to myself, "This is easy. I can make ten of these." and "This is going to be quick, I can also do x and y and z as well." My thoughts started to wander to the future and that's when it happened. It became unpleasant to make these books because I was making so many of them and thinking about all the other things I would be doing that day once I had finished. It felt too hard and I was regretting biting off more than I could chew.

But I ploughed on until the end thinking that rushing to the finish would somehow make all those unpleasant feelings go away. Oddly enough, it didn't. At the end, I felt flat and dissatisfied. Not at all happy and proud of myself for my achievements. Look at all those gorgeous books I made. I should be dancing for joy, not looking for the next thing to make that will give me a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction.

I realised that this is my pattern when I am making things. It's time to radically rethink my actual process of making. To be more mindful of what I am doing and thinking while I am making. In the future (there I go again, living in the future :0), I'm going to try and savour that feeling of "This is easy." To really enjoy and appreciate it. To be in that particular moment of ease and pleasure. To turn the easy into the pleasurable as I learnt from Simon Thakur of Ancestral Movement. To smile! Because I need to learn to savour the pleasures of making.

January 21, 2016
Homemade Muesli

We have been eating porridge all winter long. It is so filling and satisfying. I love mine with cinnamon which is great for regulating my blood sugar levels. The girls eat theirs with coconut chips, and on the weekends as a treat, honey and banana as well.

As great as porridge is in winter, there comes a time when the mornings are just too warm for eating a hot, cooked breakfast. Muesli was the obvious choice. Most commercial mueslis contain honey which is super high in fructose and causes me to crash mid morning. The answer? Make it myself of course!

Homemade muesli
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup organic coconut chips
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 sultanas
1tsp cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Put into an airtight container.
Enjoy!

The beauty of this recipe is you can add what you like. Other nuts, apricots, dates and so on.

October 12, 2015
Make Your Own Handmade Book

I am a huge bookworm. Ever since I was a kid I have been hungrily devouring books and exploring the new worlds contained within their pages. Heaven was sitting with a new novel by English author Noel Streatfield and a bag of lollies, happily reading and munching. I even spent time trying to make my own books as well as writing and illustrating. One early, unfinished masterpiece was called The Piffle Poffle.

Since then my love affair with the written word has continued and I have had a book of poetry published and done some book binding courses. You can get fancy with hand made books or you can keep it simple. I am going to show you how to make a simple book. If you want to learn more complicated techniques I would highly recommend doing a course. If a course isn't being run near you, check out these books for ideas and inspiration:

The Book Book by Sophie Benini Pietromarchi
How to Make Books by Esther K Smith

The lovely thing about making your own notebooks is being able to get creative with using different papers and methods to bind. Instead of using brads as I have done, you could try sewing with wool or hemp.

Handmade book
1 sheet coloured A4 cardboard or paper
10 sheets plain A4 paper
Ruler
Pencil
2 brads

Awl
Hammer
Chopping board
Pegs

Fold the coloured card and paper in half.

Open out the card and paper again. Lay the plain paper on top of the coloured card. It will be the cover of your finished book.

Peg around the sides of your bundle to hold paper in place.

Using a ruler and pencil, measure where you want to place your brads.

Lay paper on a chopping board and use the awl and hammer to make two holes.

Put brads in holes, remove pegs, fold bundle in half again and voila! You have your very own book.

September 28, 2015
Teaching Shoemaking

{Leather, tools and shoes}

Last weekend I ran my very first shoe making class. Over the years I have attended a lot of craft classes. However, this was my first experience of being a teacher rather than a student. The workshop was held in beautiful Gembrook on my friend Kate Horne's 1/4 acre block. It has gorgeous views of the mountains and backs onto beautiful bush. On the last afternoon a wallaby popped past to say hello. Stunning setting for a barefoot shoe making workshop, I'm sure you'll agree!

{Kate making her shoes}

There were three students for the class – River, Kate and Jacqui. Everyone already had some craft experience. River is a free-from crochet queen, Kate makes gorgeous clothes and Jacqui does eco dyeing. It was so much fun teaching what I knew and watching everyone as they created their shoes. The most exciting time for me was on Sunday when the first shoe was sewn and fitted on to the foot!

{River modelling her moccasins}

I'm so chuffed with the results. The shoes look amazing and River and Kate got to go home wearing them. How awesome is that? Go away for a weekend and come home wearing a pair of shoes you have made with your very own two hands!

Don't worry if you missed out on this class. I'm going to be running it again in November at the The Village Continuum. Check out the courses page for more details.

September 24, 2015
Dive Right In

There are days when I leap out of bed, fired with enthusiasm. And days when everything seems to drag and I just want to bury my head under the pillow and pretend the world doesn't exist. There are projects that I zip through, completing in next to no time. And projects that languish on my desk for months. This pair of soft soled leather boots was in the languishing category.

This is only the third pair of leather shoes that I've made so I am still figuring things out. Once the boots were sewn and worn in, I needed to put on soles so I didn't ruin the boot itself. But I put it off cos it was fiddly, needed patience and as I'm still learning I knew that it wouldn't be perfect. It's hard to let go off that desire to be perfect and have everything just "so". But the more I do, the more I laugh and the more relaxed I become.

I finally did dive right in and get those shoes soled. It turned out all I needed was the right motivation. In this case, going to see the exhibition Inspiration by Design from London's V&A Museum at the State Library in the city.

June 11, 2015