Kira Mardikes’ artistry begins in the soil. From there, it vines its way through a myriad of mediums, blossoming into illustrations, comic book stories, murals, sips of herbal tea, and botanically dyed wearables.

Her business, Westwind Botanicals, emerged from this intersection of diverse yet related passions, strung together by a common thread of deep caring for beauty, health, and connection to the earth.

Mardikes has derived joy and inspiration from plants as long as she can remember. “I was enamored with aromatic herbs,” she said, “From huffing oregano as a two-year-old in Greece to roasting dandelion roots from the garden as a pre-teen, I spent a lot of time foraging and making ‘potions’ from the back yard.”

Later, as a young adult, while earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, she found healing in herbs when she wasn’t able to get the help she needed from Western medicine.

As Mardikes began her career as an artist in Portland, Oregon, her fascination with and study of herbalism continued. She worked as an illustrator, logo designer, and muralist, all the while crafting nourishing tea blends to share with friends and family. She soon found herself drawn to the Olympic Peninsula by an herbalism apprenticeship through Mountain Spirit Herbal Co., studying alongside traditional herbal medicine expert Denise Joy. “I really liked her program and getting to work-trade with her,” Mardikes said, “While also gathering with a bunch of other herbalists and talking and researching. And then it kind of just never ended.”

Mardikes found a sense of belonging on the Olympic Peninsula with these kindred spirits, including her sister Tassie, who had moved to Chimacum a few years prior. Like Mardikes, Tassie is an artist with a deep appreciation for nature. Tassie worked part-time as an artist and part-time at Stellar J Farm. Mardikes joined Tassie at Stellar J doing work-trade while learning about natural farming and its environmental impact. “I just really loved it,” Mardikes explained. “I’ve always wanted to keep time for my art, but I really need to be in nature, and I need to be active a large part of the time.”

Mardikes continued her farming journey, taking a job managing the edible and botanical gardens at the Old Alcohol Plant Inn in Port Hadlock. Among these was a “dye garden” filled with highly pigmented plants and flowers that can be used to dye textiles.

Working with these plants launched Mardikes into an exploration of the botanical dye art form. “I started doing experiments,” said Mardikes, “And started doing workshops with Mardikes and other friends and getting really inspired and excited about the alchemical process… how different colors change, how different colors combine.”

For the two sisters, botanical dying became the link between their art and love of farming. “Art has been a family passion for generations on both sides of our family,” Tassie explained, “So natural dye was kind of a eureka moment of like, ‘We can finally combine these two things that we love!’” Mardikes and Tassie both planted their own dye gardens, which boast a vibrant display of flowers like sunny marigolds, fiery red-and-orange coreopsis, dainty white camomile, and Japanese indigo. “One of the things about dye plants that’s amazing,” said Mardikes, “Is they blossom continuously as long as you keep harvesting them. So they’re really good for the local pollinators as a continued food source throughout midsummer.”

Mardikes started selling bulk botanical dyes and bandanas at the Port Townsend Farmers Market as Westwind Botanicals. Her artful bandanas feature intricately drawn plants and animals, screenprinted onto the fabric, which has been dyed with plants from Mardikes’ own garden. She also offers four different organic tea blends: a colorful all-flower Solstice Tea, Rooibos and Medicinal Mushroom Chai, Hibiscus Rosehip, and Greek Mountain Sun Tea, a flavorful blend inspired by her Grecian roots. Mardikes’ comic books, greeting cards, and art prints are also for sale at the Farmers Market.

As a recent project commission, Mardikes illustrated a cheerful graphic for the non-profit Jefferson County Farmers Markets, which oversees the Port Townsend and Chimacum farmers markets. Mardikes’ illustration on the organization’s merchandise depicts a parade of insects proudly carrying produce commonly found at the Farmers Market. “As a kid, I was obsessed with insects,” said Mardikes, “I watched them, collected them, and read about them constantly. Now I’m a gardener and I’m always in conflict with some insect or another, but most are our friends.” 

Looking to the future, Mardikes will continue farming, creating art, and collaborating with her sister Tassie on dye-related projects that integrate the two. “I want to keep spreading more of my artwork out into the world,” said Mardikes. “I also want to do bigger projects that are more involved and have that dance between larger commissions and my smaller pieces that people can take home easily.”

Mardikes can be reached through her website, kiramardikesart.com, for commissioned pieces ranging from logos to murals. Her bandanas are sold at the Chimacum Corner Farmstand, and her entire product line is displayed on select Saturdays, April through December, at the Port Townsend Farmers Market.

Holly Erickson of Jefferson County Farmers Markets presents an inside look at the people, histories, and passions behind the booths of our community’s vibrant marketplaces. A longer version of this story will be published at jcfmarkets.org/vendor-stories.