Botanical alchemist, pioneer of eco-printing, textile artist, costume designer, forest wanderer and the helm of Nomad Arts. Writer, poet and occasional dancer. These are just some words used to describe and define current King Island Gallery artist in residence India Flint.
Ms Flint has a prolific social media presence and is a highly sought-after teacher and is possibly best known for creating the eco-print dyeing technique, which uses locally-foraged plants, whether from forest, shore, garden, or kitchen scraps for colour for cloth and yarn.
Her processes allow the maker to reduce the toxic impacts of synthetic dyes and use traditional skills.
Her books are the Bible, Koran, and Torah of dyeing experimentation and realignment tired wardrobes and reflect her passion for the environment, in particular Australian wool and native eucalyptus.
According to some following her techniques and approach, it is a process – an individual journey to the end product, not simply experimentation and eco-friendly dyeing.
Ms Flint is considered a leader in the slow fashion movement and her Australian and international community of followers was built through teaching in retreats, workshops and writing.
She is able to cross and meld the interdisciplinary boundaries of fibre art, writing, printmaking, and design. Commissions are far-reaching in type and application – from stage sets to hand-stitched books and reinvigorating clothing.
Using bioregional dyes (what grows where she is working), Ms Flint experiments, makes notes and treats dyeing with plants as an art and science, informed by ethno-botany, medicine, history and geography.
Her King Island residency will finish on December 8. The artist-in-residence program and upcoming visiting artists and workshops can be viewed on the council website or call into the King Island Gallery located at Currie Harbour.