About Me

Dye Artist Statement

I am a botanical colourist and Earth artist exploring traditional techniques, who seeks colour from nature's pallet by collaborating with Papatūānuku, Mother Earth. My work captures the art and alchemy of working with nature and not against it. Every step is slowly crafted by hand in my studio, where my botanical palettes are hand mixed from flowers, roots, foliage, nuts, and food waste to wood. Plant-based dyes create stunning colours that shift, change and come alive in natural sunlight. This ancient slow craft creates a stunning depth of natural colour unachievable with any synthetic chemical dyes.

My botanical hand-dyed art and natural fabrics are inspired by and infused with nature. Nature is perfectly imperfect and unpredictable with no two dye baths the same. As the botanical dye interacts with the fabric, unique markings and colour variations occur—a process just like nature itself, which should be celebrated. This makes each a slow-crafted, individual piece of art.

I have worked with natural dyes for over 7 years. I enjoy the unpredictable challenges of natural dyes and am fascinated by their historical use within indigenous and ancient communities. I am passionate about creating in a sustainable and minimal way. I believe we all have a responsibility to live our lives as sustainably as possible and sustainability is at the wairua of what I do.

Artist Statement

I am an artist who works with the earth, plants, and land. Combining my natural dye hīko (journey) with a rediscovered love for painting, to create with natural colour on a different type of canvas. By following my deep connection to nature and the land, combined with my love of colours and abstract forms to create pieces where the colours and textures of the land and pigments tell a story and fulfil an emotional response rather than focus on a subject matter. I aim to convey the essence of the pigments I use and my emotional response to Papatūānuku.

I use traditional methods of creating my pigments and paints from the earth and plants. Each pigment is hand mulled into oil paint, allowing me to create my own unique colours.

I am drawn to experimentation and play and rely on natural colours as a major element in projecting the emotional content in my works.

At the heart of my mahi is the intention to raise awareness of our environmental impacts.

Bio

Vicki is an artist living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington Aotearoa NZ. Her work is centred around alchemising natural materials into various art mediums, dye, ink, paint and pigments and thus forming the foundation of her process-based research and creativity.

Having gained a Foundation Arts Diploma from Weymouth College and a BA (hons) in Arts and Event Management from Bournemouth Arts University. Vicki went on to successfully created a business around her natural dyed products selling her art around the world. With sustainability deeply ingrained in her practice she organically grows most of her dye plants from seed giving her a holistic approach to the dyes she creates.

After being offered a studio space in Paekākāriki on the Kāpiti coast her creativity has expanded into creating paint-based artworks from her natural paints and pigments. Finding and collecting natural earth pigments homes Vicki’s senses to the local environment around her and connects her to the landscape in a new more meaningful way, while still allowing her to explore different techniques and ideas while collaborating with nature.

Say kia ora

If you would like to know more about my work, collaborate or have an idea please email.

 
 

Visit

Holtom’s Art Studios, 1 Beach Road, Paekākāriki

Hours
Tuesday-Sunday
10am–3pm

Please phone to confirm if making a special visit.

Phone

02102470646