INSPIRE: Albany textile artist Kylie Riches on finding inspiration at home in Robinson and how to dye fabric

If you’re looking for Kylie Riches, the textile artist could be in one of several places. You might find her rummaging in Albany’s op shops or foraging in the trees on her Robinson property, hunting useful articles for her work. But it’s just as likely that she’ll be out cleaning or doing the books for a local business because Ms Riches is an artist without airs and graces, someone who has a passion for creativity but also has to get other things done. Her pieces are lovely. She makes cards and other objects, but it’s her scarves, shirts and skirts which catch the eye, all gentle pastels with imprints of leaves, flowers and . . . onion skins. Onion skins? “Yes, onion skins, over-dyed with indigo,” she laughs. “It’s amazing what you can use. “Maple leaves and especially prunus flowers are especially good, they can be deciduous or not, anything natural really, even the onions. “Onions are also great as natural dyes — they come out a beautiful orange. “Avocado pits too, if you want a lovely pink.” So how did she get into textiles? Did she go to art school, love needle craft or gain inspiration from the generations of designers who came before? “I was interested in finding something creative to do myself and went to a summer school run by Penny Jewell in Walpole,” she said. “Her use of plants and natural dyes really caught my imagination — and the rest I learned from Google. “I looked on the internet and pretty much taught myself.” Natural flora imprinted on natural fabrics is her forte and the reason she regularly hunts around Albany’s second-hand clothes stores looking for linens or silk she can transform into stylish, flowing garments. “I’m not a great seamstress so that’s why I look for natural fabrics in the op shops,” she said. “They have probably been washed several times already, but they have to be really well cleaned before I can put them in the microwave.” The microwave is part of the dying process and was a technique she also picked up from the internet — a Made by Barb YouTube tutorial on eco-printing. In fact, turning op-shop rags into Riches’ riches starts with scouring, a 90-minute cleaning process involving the fabric and a pot of hot water. Next comes mordanting — soaking the piece in mineral salts so it will accept and hold colour — and then it’s time to create the desired pattern. After that, the package is tightly bundled and popped in the microwave for 10 minutes with a bowl of water. “It’s always a total voyage of discovery,” Riches said. “I’ve had many failures, but the successes are really exciting. “It does sound more like an industrial process than a creative one but collecting from my own property is lovely. “I can just pick things off the trees and put pretty shapes together, which is wonderful.” Born in Melbourne, she and a friend were working in a pharmacy when they decided, pretty much on the spur of the moment, to escape to Western Australia. “It was 2000, we were young and crazy and decided to run away to WA because I had a cousin there,” she said. “I’ve been here ever since. Although she creates from home, her textiles are on show at the Old Elleker Studio, owned by fellow artist Karen Quain and currently hosting an exhibition for the Southern Regional Easter Arts Festival. She enjoys being part of art events like the festival but says it’s hard to go all out and promote her products all year round. “I used to have some bits and pieces on sale at Coastal Creations, but I lack a bit of confidence when it comes to pursuing sales and those sorts of avenues,” she said. “I’m also having a break from social media because having to post and think about posting is a bit of a pressure. “I just love working from home, in the carport and pottering about in the shed, not worrying too much about the process but being more intuitive. “I think it’s how I’ve kept my youthful looks and sense of humour.” Riches will exhibit at Old Elleker Studio on Old Elleker Road throughout the Southern Regional Easter Arts Festival from April 12-21.