Diary of a Dye Studio Intern: Volume 2

by Debbie Sullivan August 01, 2017 1 Comment

In Volume 2, Annie continues her reflections on life as an intern in the Sweet Paprika studio, and how the things she's learned will be incorporated in her plans for the future. If you missed Volume 1, you can find it here.

Dramatic Bubble-gum

Creating a new set of colors to dye yarn can be quite confusing. Since the beginning of my internship I mainly followed recipes. When I was given the mission to create a new one, I realised that I didn’t really pay much attention to how each of the colours influences each other when you mix them. Each colour has its own ‘’strength’’, if I can say, and it gave me a hard time to get the colour I wanted to create. In the end I made a big, hot and charming mess of the workspace and got a color I didn’t plan at all. So, just like a lot of things in our world, my recipe is a combination of miscalculations and mistakes, which still gives us a majestic result, named: Dramatic Bubble-gum.

All You Knit is Love

My grandmother once taught me how to knit. Long story short: I knitted for a while, stopped and never got back to it. So, being an intern with Sweet Paprika I had a lot of pressure to learn again, which I finally did. Debbie showed me different ways to knit and I even started to make a hat. I really didn’t expect to like it that much but now, I always want to knit! Get ready: everyone is getting knitted socks for Christmas.

Super Sweet Paprika

It’s been several years now that I have studied and worked with different forms of art. Right now, I am a scenography student, which means I have to develop a lot of diverse skills about costume, props and set design. My internship with Sweet Paprika has added a lot of new strings to my bow. Most importantly it was the first time that I worked with fabric. Practicing the whole process of dyeing and learning how to manage different colors and textures is a necessity when you design costumes.

Generally, I really enjoyed working with all the new techniques. It was very refreshing to start by being perfectly ignorant about dye, and finishing as, let’s say, ‘’functionally competent’’.  As an artist, learning from scratch is always an empowering process. Experimenting with a new medium and technique is the best way to push your creativity further. Plus, you get new skills to brag about. I am very grateful for all the knowledge and practice Sweet Paprika gave me. It has opened up new possibilities for projects and experiences, which is very rewarding.

Thank you Annie for telling us about your experience as an intern. It's been great to have your energy and enthusiasm in the studio this summer, we'll miss you!

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