Today we’d like to introduce you to Audrey King.
Hi Audrey, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
The story of Goose Summer began, for me, in the foothills of North Carolina when I first began to spin webs of cloth. I was an apprentice for a weaver and was living in a house that was being turned into a crafts and skills-based school for the community. It was the first time I related to the archetype of the spider, and in that process, I spun many entangling webs of love. This was where I began my fiber arts practice.
It wasn’t until March 2022 that I dove into learning about plant dyeing. I took a course on dyeing with local plants taught by Graham Keegan in Silver Lake. He taught me so much of what I know about natural dyeing. The biggest lesson that I learned from him is that plant dyeing is one big experiment. I try to be as open to the process as possible, and I love that I am never quite sure how it will turn out. The unpredictability really fuels my creative practice!
In June of 2022, I started Goose Summer, which is my plant dyeing business. I dye and sew all of my products. I love being able to touch everything from start to finish. At the moment, I am offering my plant-dyed silk scrunchies and flower-pressed tanks online. You can find more Goose Summer products like silk scarves, plant-dyed bedding and silk scrunchies at Alkemie Road and Honest Rituals in Topanga, as well as at Kitkitdizzi in Nevada City, CA.
The archetype of the goose represents a generous offering, an offering that reminds someone to offer something in return. I make these soft silk, hand-held pieces to pass from my palm to yours. In a way, I am growing the web between me to you; spinning until we are all entangled and enmeshed.
I love collaborating with local artists, non-profits, and restaurants to create artwork together with food waste, herbs, barks, and flowers. It is so beautiful to make art out of something that would have otherwise been thrown away. That is the magic of playing with natural dyes!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think my biggest obstacle is taking on too much of the operation. I like to be a part of the whole process from dyeing the cloth to sewing the adornment. But as I am expanding and starting to think about making clothing and home goods, I know that I will have to let go of some of the processes because I can only do so much!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Alongside my fiber art, I am also a dancer and poet. I am working on my first book of poems which I hope to publish in 2024. The poems focus on death, grief and the game show Wheel of Fortune. I had several poems published last year, including “Catching”, published by Harpur Palate, as well as a forthcoming poem in Gulf Coast Journal, titled “Opening and Closing”.
I find my dance work to be fueled by my poetry and vice versa. A lot of my dance pieces have been about the intersection between death and erotic power. I love the ephemerality of dance. I love how every time you perform something it is born and then it dies. I am currently working on a performance that will happen this summer at Sycamore Grove Park.
I love the metaphor between my work that is inspired by death and my dyeing practice. This homophone was not on purpose but I do like to think about the cross-over between all my art practices. I think there is an element of death, decay, renewal, and transformation that happens during a plant dye bath: the flower decomposes and becomes a new form. I am always trying to operate from a space of how can I go deeper into this process; how can I let go completely; how can I become a vessel for the work to channel through me; and can I embody more love. These are the principles that I try to live by.
Sustainability is also a big part of my life and art. I think I gravitated towards plant dyeing (and dance and poetry) because it felt like the only way to move forward. I used to work with oil paint, and I still love that medium, but I wanted to find a more sustainable practice, one that I felt honored the environment. I love that when I am done with a plant dye project, I can pour all of the dye back into the garden.
If you are interested in learning more about my artwork feel free to follow me on social media. I will be sharing more about upcoming work soon!
What’s next?
I have some exciting upcoming projects with Goose Summer this year. I will be doing some plant dyeing workshops at community gardens around LA. I love doing workshops! It is always so exciting and rewarding to share my knowledge about plants with others as well as learn from other artists.
I am also planning to work with some local restaurants to use their food waste for dyeing projects. Avocado pits, lemon rinds (great for indigo vats), black beans, turmeric, coffee, pomegranates, and hibiscus are some food dyes I have used. Also barks from around the neighborhood are always great too. I love being able to use something that someone thought was trash and turn it into a beautiful dye project!
But the biggest change of all is I am deciding to focus more on fiber art this year instead of only making wearable adornments and clothing.
Contact Info:
- Website: goosesummer.com
- Instagram: goose_summer
