St. John's Wort

The first thing to stand out to me about St. John’s Wort was its name, a bit odd, but I found out “wort” is simply Old English for “plant”.  There are many folklores surrounding this herb.  The most common one, of the Western world, is of how the blood-red oil from its bruised petals is in honor of John the Baptist.  One of my favorites is from Brittany where the picking of the herb is symbolic of the dismembering of the God, the Summer Lord. When one gives the plant as medicine to the sick, you are re-membering the God:  putting his scattered pieces back together.  Many feel the scent alone repels evil spirits, causing them to fly away.  It is also a charm to be hung above one’s door to protect from demons and unwanted mischief makers, especially on Midsummer’s Day.  It is usually ready to be picked from Summer Solstice through August, depending on elevation.  This plant, at one time, could be found very easily, but due to its classification as a “noxious weed”, it is becoming harder to find.  In our area it is referred to as “Klamath Weed,” with very little respect showed for its powerful healing abilities.  I find it in hidden pockets throughout the mountains here, often close to creeks at the animal trail cross paths or in the middle of overgrown roads.  I reserve patches found along the roadside for dyeing, while off-road growth for medicine.   

My first experience with this plant was from a fellow mother at Tipi Village, who used it regularly to heal herself and others.  She brought our family a jar of oil she made and there began our relationship with this amazing plant.  We use it for cuts, scrapes and burns from the fire, watching its quick work.  I was introduced to many healing plants, while at Tipi Village, and have noticed a unique connection to St. John’s Wort.  I began making the crimson St. John’s Wort Oil myself, by solar infusion with olive oil, and eventually turning it into salve, with the addition of beeswax.  In our family’s travels over the last year, I have shared this healing salve and oil with people all over the country… giving it away more than selling it!  Giving medicine, as a gift, feels best to me.

The dye from St. John’s Wort will give many colors depending on whether one is or is not using alum, as a mordant, and the re-use of the same dye bath.   I have tried dyeing with this plant a few times and only once successfully extracted a brilliant maroon.  I believe I will figure it out next year.  Natural dyeing is one experiment after another and since I am self- taught it takes a bit longer to produce consistent results.

Calendula Oil and St. John's Wort Oil 3 weeks in the sun.

Just picked buds and blossoms.

Here are a few books I regularly use as reference when researching plants:

Dewey, Laurel.  The Humorous Herbalist.  1996.

Grieve, Mrs. M.  A Modern Herbal. Vol. I and II,  1931.

Hopman,  Ellen Evert.  A Druid’s Herbal.  1995.

Moore, Michael.  Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West.  1993.

Pond, Barbara,  A Sampler of Wayside Herbs.  1974.

I also have started listening to herbalist Susan Weed’s podcast, free through iTunes.  She has a long history of practicing plant medicine and I have learned a lot from the few podcast I have listened to so far.

I hope to write about the other plants I have worked with, including:  elder, nettle, yarrow, and usnea.

Eco -Printing Part Two

The prints from my last two days of dyeing, using an iron bath with elder leaves, sumac leaves, and onion skins thrown in the mix.



Detail of one of the leave prints on Sheep sorrel dyed wool

 

 

I'm pretty wordless right now... the prints are so amazing!!!  I stayed up until 3 am making these scarves last night.  Every time I unravel a bundle I feel like a little kid on my birthday...

Adventures in Eco-printing Part One

I jumped into my first eco-printing session yesterday, after reading up on the many ways to achieve the color imprints.  I was given a huge amount of organic wool scraps and figured this was the best use for them.  Eco-printing is really simple, but it takes a lot of experimenting to fully understand how one can achieve clear images and get a range of colors.  I already had an iron solution, from dyeing with sumac berries earlier in the day, so I bundled the wool with rubber bands and placed them in a steam bath of the iron solution.  Everything was going well until one of my kids spooked me and while checking on one of the bundles dropped them into the solution... oops!!! Normally I think this would be fine, except the solution had turned dark grey from the sumac.  After a little profanity I remembered how mishaps can create beauty in art making... So to my pleasant surprise they still turned out beautifully.  I am full of ideas on how to use these little pieces of art.  Maybe journal covers, holiday cards, wall hangings, patches, there are so many possibilities!!!!   My next batch, which is soaking as I type this, will be unrolled after tonight.  I am going to try the steaming technique again to see if it produces the subtle details better.



Lay leaves and flowers on pre-alumed wet wool

Eco-print of leaves on wool



 

Forest of Arts (Hopkins Demonstration Forest)

Our family was invited to give a Tipi Living Demo at an outdoor arts festival, called Forest of Arts, this last weekend.  It was held at the Hopkins Demonstration Forest, outside of Portland, OR.  Along with showing how people can still live in tipis, with a direct relationship with the elements, my husband and I gave demonstrations of our own crafts as well.  I recreated my outdoor sewing work space and set up a hand-on display for Natural Dyeing, while Michael displayed his basket weaving and bow-making.  Fair Ophelia Designs creations were for sale, along with a few wild-crafted plant medicines.  It was a really great event and we would be happy to return next year! 

We set up our family lodge one day before the festival began and welcomed many old friends into our home.  After living in Southern Oregon for more than a year and having many folks come and visit us, we had the pleasure of bringing our home to those unable to travel afar.

Tipi living in the Cascade region seems a bit unreasonable due to the wetness, but we survived the weekend.  There was only one short rain storm, but finding dry wood in a temperate rain forest is difficult, leading to smokier fires than normal.  Our bones were creaking from the cold moist air, yet the experience was rewarding.

It is strange to put your life on display, but I feel we opened many eyes to the possibility of how humans can live in a more direct and accountable way.  Many boy and girl scout troops were around and the whole family took turns helping them get some badges.  Fair and Whitman showed how to identify different trees and what those trees offered for food and medicine.  I did a short dyeing tutorial with sumac berries and iron and Michael talked about wild edibles and processing acorns.  Their eyes were bright and there smiles wide by the end of the visit with us.  We had many great conversations throughout the weekend and thank you to all those who supported us by taking home one of my many creations!!!

 

Natural Dyeing Demo Area
 

Fair Ophelia Designs

 




Sumac berries create a rosy beige, but when put in an iron after-bath it changes to a charcoal.
 




Wolf lichen, Oregon Grape root, and Onion skins create various yellows and light greens.

 

(photo by Gordon F.)
Visitors were fascinated with the spectrum of colors from natural dyeing and I told them this demo's colors were just the tip of the ice burg in the colors one can achieve!




Boy scouts breaking open acorns and walnuts.




(photo by Gordon F.)
Our family lodge
 

       

(photo by Gordon F.)
Michael spent a lot of time welcoming people inside and letting them experience being on the ground around the fire.


 





(photo by Gordon F.)
We tried to make it as close to our normal setup.

 

Time with our loved ones!