Decorating eco coffins and making shrouds happens from April to July during the Eco Coffin Project. The participants become artists as their creativity vibrantly emerges inspired by their life stories, values, beliefs and imagination.
Shrouds are made from a plethora of techniques including hand-dying using gum leaves, red wine, black beans, coffee, turmeric; nuno-felting bonding merino wool and ahimsa silk together; upcycling family heirloom linen/cotton sheets and tablecloths with vintage lace; quilting stashes of remnant silk collected over the years full of life stories; crocheting shared moments using yarn made from old t-shirts donated from special people.
Eco coffins are adorned with images, symbols and biodegradable things from the artists’ lives using multi-media including plant-based paints and glues; stencils, decoupaged cut-outs; plant materials, paper mementos to name a few.
Every coffin and shroud is completely different, just as each of our lives are completely different.
shroud making – dyeing sheets with lemon eucalyptuseco coffin decorating – using biodegradable paintsshroud death dress making – experimenting drawing gum leaves to be painted on the op-shop cotton dress
Shroud making – nuno feltingeco coffin decorating – tracing guitar outlineShroud making – upcycling family heirloom vintage cotton sheets and native plant based dyes
shroud making – patchwork of remnant silk swatcheseco coffin decorating – test run painting zebra finchesshroud making – crocheting old shirts, each with their own story
Shroud making – vintage lace on linen tableclotheco coffin decorating – painting desert plantseco coffin decorating – using biodegradable paints
shroud making – painting hand-dyed calico material dyed with red wine left over from parent’s weddingshroud making – merino wool dyed with leaves from eucalypt cinderea, eucalypt iron bark and casuarina (sheaok)eco coffin decorating – painting leaves as a meaningful symbol for the artist
shroud making – collecting and preparing paper bark shed from local trees to be sewn onto hand-dyed calico materialshroud making – painting calico material hand-dyed with red wine from parent’s weddingeco coffin decorating – painting leaves as a meaningful symbol for the artist
shroud making – painting hand-dyed calico where every leaf represents a year of artist’s life so fareco coffin decorating – using stencilseco coffin decorating – using stencils
shroud making – painting life stories onto calico materialeco coffin decorating – painting eco cardboard coffin then using textas to draw meaningful symbols and wordsShroud making – dyeing calico material with red wine left over from parent’s wedding
