The Eastern Iowa Fiber & Dye Cooperative is a community garden located at Reno Street Park in Iowa City, IA.
Community gardens are known to grow food. The central question to this garden is: What if we artists grew their own art supplies?
The garden was founded in 2025 by Nicholas Cladis thanks to the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation, the Big Field Fund administered by Iowa City non-profit arts organization Public Space One, and Iowa City Parks & Recreation / city government.
The co-op aims to encourage a communal, local approach to plant-based fiber and dye production and give paper, book, and textile artists a physical and spiritual resource for their work. Nicholas Cladis is working with local artists and curators Peju Layiwola, Martha Monick, Dana Noble, Jamin Shepherd, Cale Stelken, Lilah Ward, Cheryl Jacobsen, Nick Hotek, and Juli Seydell Johnson. This group comprises the co-op's membership in its pilot year.
Plants include native dye/fiber plants as well as plants that have some kind of cultural or historical significance to Iowa. Plants range from indigo to coreopsis, from flax to numerous varieties of milkweed (which, when harvested responsibly, makes a great paper!).
This garden turns artists into stewards of the land and the materials they use. We also have activated the garden with artworks and interventions, such as sculptures to artists’ books, and will be hosting several workshops in the fall.
Note: Images are stage one of this project (April - June 2025). Stay tuned for images from the next stages (e.g., harvests, workshops, events).
