Lindsay Embree
​
​
I am a printmaker by training. The primary focus of my art for over 20 years was multiple colour, stone and plate lithography and intaglio. My prints are all original works of art created within a specific printmaking medium and hand printed by me. In 1993 I started working in theatre as a costume assistant. I began printing fabrics and shifted into creating One-of-a-Kind, "Art Wear" works. This lead to an increased interest in dyeing textiles and my eventual discovery of Eco-Colour Dyeing.
​
My larger "Art Wear" pieces are inspired by my work in theatre and are created primarily for exhibition and performance purposes. Smaller works in the form of Eco-Dyed scarves are more accessible as "Wearable Art". Every two years I attend a collaborative art making event (CollaboratioNZ) in New Zealand. Because of the enjoyment I get from Eco-Dyeing, I always spend a few extra weeks in New Zealand so that I can take advantage of the eucalyptus trees that grow there. I love the magic that emerges as you undo one of the not-so-attractive black/brownish bundles that you pull from the iron dye bath. It takes a lot of time and hand strength to bundle several layers of plant material into a 3 x 4 meter piece of silk, so the scarves are a "resting point" during my dye days. They offer me the pleasure of discovery without stressing my hands too much, and I can bundle several scarves in the time it takes me to bundle one section of silk yardage.
​
I was attracted to the Eco-Colour Dye process because of its relative simplicity and its environmentally friendly footprint. It uses very little water and plants are not killed in order to access their colour. My leaves of preference are eucalyptus leaves because they offer an infinite variety of shapes and colours as well as a constant source of inspiration.
​
Lindsay Embree is from Saskatchewan. Initially, Lindsay worked primarily in lithography and etching. While at the University of Saskatchewan, she studied “waterless lithography,” a more environmentally friendly technique, developed by Nik Semenoff.
​
Since 2005, Lindsay has participated biennially in CollaboratioNZ where 85 artists gather to create art. While in New Zealand, she dyes the silk and merino yardage for garments later created in Canada. She uses the Eco-Colour Dye Method she learned from India Flint at the 2011 SDA conference, using eucalyptus and native NZ plants.
​
Lindsay recently co-produced Ancient Elements, a performance combining wearable art, original poetry, live flamenco-gypsy music and flamenco dance. With Lindsay’s hand dyed textiles, one-of-a-kind works of wearable art were created by designer/seamstresses Astri Prugger (Montreal), and Melissa Squire (Saskatoon). On three occasions, Lindsay coordinated the Saskatchewan Wearable Art Gala (SWAG), an event inspired by the World of Wearableart (WOW) in NZ. The SWAG fund raiser was generously underwritten by her and her husband with proceeds going towards the development of the Jack Millikin Centre for cultural and ecological events. It is in this boreal forest location at Ness Creek, SK that the biennial EMMA International Collaboration takes place, and where Lindsay has spent the last four events as Resource Artist for printmaking.
​
​
- Surface Design Association "Canada Craft Year 2020"
Susan M. Clark (SDA Membership Committee)