How Dry Run Came to Life

Toxic, Yet Beautiful River

I tried to dye silk organza with the mud and plants in the river water

Painting outside with bengara- earth pigment paints

Bundle Dyed and painted silk organza

Left over cutch & onion skin dyed silk

I am currently working on a two-person exhibition at RMCAD’s Philip J. Steele Gallery, opening June 15 and running through July 24, 2026.

https://www.vasd.rmcad.edu/dry-run-by-sharifa-lafon-and-maki

When Sharifa Lafon first reached out about doing a show together, I was surprised.

We had only met briefly at an opening before and had never really had a conversation.

To be honest, I was a little skeptical.

My past experiences crept in...

We talked about our inspirations and recent experiences in nature. Sharifa mentioned a “toxic valley” with left over various metals from mines she had visited the previous fall. I shared a story about a pond near my home at Washington Park that had completely dried up. The water level had shrunk so dramatically that I saw a lone turtle swimming in what was little more than a puddle.

Around the same time, both of us received postcards from the City of Denver warning residents about drought conditions. One side simply read, in large letters: “DROUGHT!” It reminded us that water restrictions would become severe this summer.

We decided to visit the valley Sharifa had mentioned. For safety reasons, we cannot disclose its location. We still do not fully understand the effects the water may have on human health, so we wore boots and gloves while exploring the area and handling anything near the creek.

The valley completely blew my mind.

I had never seen such vivid orange mud flowing through a creek. Plants along the water seemed strangely gray and black, as if their color had been drained away. I expected to find mushrooms throughout the area, but because of the lack of snow and rain over the winter, most of them had dried up completely.

That visit became a major source of inspiration for the work I am creating for this exhibition.

For the past couple months, I have been dyeing silk organza almost every day.

The color palette for this show focuses on earthy tones. I mordanted the fabric with tannin and alum, dyed it with onion skins collected from Katsu Ramen, layered additional tannin and iron treatments, experimented with bundle dyeing, and incorporated earth pigments I brought back from Osaka.

Even though the dyeing process is complete, the installation is still in progress.

Installing fabric in a gallery space always feels a bit like painting. Every color has to be placed in exactly the right location, at the right height, and in relationship to the surrounding pieces. It is often the most exhausting and frustrating part of the process.

But I am confident everything will come together by the end of this week.

I cannot wait to share the finished installation and final images before the exhibition opens on June 15.