Oak twigs and bark

This morning I gathered some oak twigs and pieces of bark that were lying around the bole of our local specimen oak tree. I’d always thought it was a Holm Oak, because it marks the boundary with Loughton’s neighbouring grid square, which is called Great Holm, but my research has revealed that Holm Oaks are evergreen, which ours definitely is not! Apparently, there are about 600 species of Oak, as well as many hybrids, so although it is likely to be an English Oak, I cannot be absolutely sure. The Oak epitomises the spirit of England and for the ancient Celts it was believed to be a storehouse of wisdom embodied within its towering strength.

Like the Winterbourne Dye Project, my oak yielded a range of mouse brown dyes. As I’ve remarked before, winter can be a hard time for the natural dyer because there are not many dye plants to choose from. I can only agree with the Winterbourne Dyers, who remarked, “Some people may say (and some people DO say) why go to all this trouble to produce shades of brown?  Well, partly it is because we are just experimenting with what is available, and what is mainly available in January and February is tree prunings,

and partly it is so satisfying to produce colour, any colour, from plants that are around us.” Even though I’ve dyed yet another batch of brown wool, the colours from Oak are quite different from those I extracted from Yew and Eucalyptus, so I’m pleased with the results, especially the depth of colour delivered with a pinch of iron as a modifier/assistant. From the left the skeins have been mordanted with alum, copper, alum plus iron and alum plus tin.