DIGITAL RESIDENT
An-Phuong Ly

october 2023

An-Phuong Ly is a natural dyer and textile artist working out of her studio in Washington, DC. Her passion is in exploring the unexpected colors that plants and natural materials can yield, experimenting with texture and pattern, and continuously learning, collaborating, and sharing this practice with others. Her best friend and life partner, Barclay, a monochromatic dog, accompanies her everywhere.

Her textile practice began with fiber reactive dyes, but transitioned fully to natural dyes when she traveled to Wollam Gardens where she was given access to the 11 acre flower farm. She was free to forage wild plants and use farm grown flowers that were considered unacceptable in the floral world. A major part of her work is centered on giving second life to natural materials that would otherwise go directly to compost.

Education is one of her major passions, having taught in and around DC at the US Botanic Garden, National Arboretum, GWU Textile Museum, Wollam Gardens, and beyond at the O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm. For a short period, she participated in the Natural Dye Initiative at MICA in Baltimore where she met several of the dyers who inspire her practice now.

Learn more about An-Phuong’s work here.