We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caroline Guilbert. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caroline below.

Hi Caroline, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Even though I discovered natural dyeing while pursuing my master’s degree in color, the supplies were from pigments and dyes already extracted. There were specific recipes given by the provider with tips on how to achieve the best results. Similar to how we use paint directly from the tube, the dyes were premade and ready to use.

Now, I extract natural dyes from food and flower scraps to color my work. So far I have been letting the waste direct which color I can obtain from it. But, in a new series, I am flipping this approach by looking to achieve a specific hue and experimenting with various biowastes to achieve it. This requires a fair amount of testing and trialing, similar to the work of an archaeologist or chemist.

The funny fact is in high school I was terrible at chemistry! But once I approached chemistry through the lens of color, it gave me the motivation to learn and discover some of its rules. I consider my way of natural dyeing to be a hybrid between art and science.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I create sculptures to challenge the ways in which people perceive and experience color. Based in New York City, I am fascinated by the impact of color on our daily lives through psychology, theory, and more. I create from a curated live/work space in Brooklyn, which allows me to fuel the daily organic rhythm of my creative process, immersed in my artistic environment.

Reframing the psychological issue of waste is an essential part of my approach. With sustainability at the core of my practice, I gather materials from local and second-hand sources. Through natural dye techniques, I extract chromatic properties from my own daily food scraps, as well as floral waste. By doing so, I curate what is around me and enable nature to be part of the artistic process. I add layers of UV-sensitive paint during the making of my pieces and use colored light as a medium. When exposed to the black light, the naturally dyed colors step back, and the UV-sensitive parts are highlighted, playing tricks on our eyes.

I view my works as an opportunity to offer a healing and escaping journey for the senses through light and textures. I aim to show how our vision and brain can lead us to misperceive the spectral composition of visible light and to convey that color is a changing sensation, even an illusion.

Have you ever had to pivot?

While working in the fashion industry in Paris, I decided to move to the United States and further my career as a color & trend designer. After living in New York for a few years, I then moved to Denver, Colorado with my ex-partner. Although Denver was not my long-term home, I was really excited to be immersed in the great outdoors and reconnect with nature. During this time I pivoted to floral design and dove deeper into exploring natural dye from flower waste.

While working in fashion was rewarding, the pollution generated by petrochemical dyes and the amount of waste being produced by the industry was challenging to witness. I found this unsettling and ultimately, it was the reason I decided to step away. As I transitioned into floral design, I felt the need to find responsible solutions to address the waste being produced there too. With flowers, I can repurpose waste and use scraps in new, innovative ways. This idea of not letting anything go to waste has become the foundation of my creative practice. Joining a sportswear brand, later on, allowed me to apply the learnings of coloring with plants and push to success the development of naturally dyed collections.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

In my opinion, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is connection. First, each step of my creative journey has helped me to learn a lot about myself, and what truly interests me as well as develop a strong sense of self-trust. Ultimately, I have gained a strong understanding of my calling and life purpose.

I truly feel there is something sacred about using raw materials as my medium. It feels like a return to my roots and to the essence of the earth itself. Using natural resources allows me to explore my relation to Nature and our planet.

My artistic practice also enables me to connect with others. Providing my audience with the opportunity to perceive and experience color in new ways is ultimately the greatest reward. After interacting with my work, several people have shared with me that they see color differently and notice it more throughout their day, and feel they understand it better. If my artwork provokes you to reexamine your own views on life, that is the best compliment I could receive.

I intend for my art to bring people together, transcend their differences, and tell a community-shared story of what it feels like to experience this life as humans. By leading a sustainable creative practice and sharing this message with others, I have found a positive and authentic way to make an impact.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carolineguilbertstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolineguilbertstudio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolineguilbert/

Image Credits
Tanya Nowossjolova @nowossjolka