Open Day Celeiro, Setúbal, Portugal, May 11, 2025
Photo by @bue.artes, Vanderley Fernandes
Open studio with an exhibition of works made with plants, natural dyes, and chlorophylls, and Moving Threads participatory weaving.
April 4th. Celeiro
This morning the weather felt restless – strong winds and rain sweeping through the landscape.
As soon as the sun appeared, I walked along the road leading to the studio and wandered into the fields around Celieiro’s property. The scent of wild fennel, rosemary, and lavender delighted my senses, while the subtle hues of the flora painted a captivating play of colours.
I began gathering olive leaves, wild fennel, sea fennel tips, plantain, and lavender leaves. Back home, I placed them gently into a glass jar with alcohol, letting them rest until the next day to release their chlorophyll.
When I opened the jar the following morning, the leaves had turned crisp and pale, having surrendered their pigments. This way, I can obtain different shades of green – depending on the plant, the colour becomes either deeper or shifts towards yellow. The extracted pigment will soon be absorbed by paper, carrying with it the memory of these early spring days.
