natural dye

Just released! New Natural Dye DVD feat. Michel Garcia: Red, Yellow, Black, Maya Blue on Wool

Announcing the release of a new Natural Dye Workshop DVD featuring Michel Garcia, “Colors of the Americas on Wool Fibers Using Sustainable Methods”

Our brilliant botanist-chemist instructor, Michel Garcia, does it again with this new DVD. This is the second in a series of natural dye videos produced by Slow Fiber Studios. As with the first film, Michel continues to demystify the natural dye process in a way that is engaging, humorous, and down right eye opening.

Among many topics covered, Michel shows unconventional ways to dye with and without mordant, why using locally found bio-accumulators is the way to go, how to use fruit skins in your indigo vat, and smart, sustainable ways to achieve shades of yellow, reds, purples, browns, and even black. Also includes very special and insightful footage of the Botanical Gardens of Oaxaca and the Textile Museum of Oaxaca including interviews with the very knowledgable director.

2-disc set, run time 3.5hrs, English narration with subtitles in Japanese, Chinese, Italiano, Francais, Espanol. $68 retail. Available for purchase here

For more information or to view the trailer, visit naturaldyeworkshop.com.

Michel Garcia hits the Netherlands! 3-day workshop intensive (Aug 27-29,Tilburg)

You really want to take a class with Michel. Trust us. Really. GO. And if you’re in/near the Netherlands, here’s your chance.

photo: M Garcia, Oaxaca // PH: NSalumbides (all rights reserved)

Natural Dyeing Workshop : an intriguing mix of secrets and chemistry
3-Day class with Master Dyer Michel Garcia (Fr)
Zijdelings studio, Tilburg NL  www.zijdelings.com

Day 1: learn to make quick organic (natural) indigo vats and resists for white patterns on a blue background. Students will be taught how to start and how to keep and maintain their vat for a long time. Different and simple recipes will be offered and explained. Next up: a very creative method to realize white patterns on a blue background. A special resist paste will be made by mixing together clay, gum, and magnesium salt. This paste will be applied on white fabric, dyed, then rinsed with ordinary water from the tap. The resist is easily cleaned and the white designs appear on a blue background

Day 2: students learn to use mordants for printing and make a sampler with various mordants within one piece of fabric in order to test any kind of dyestuff.

Day 3: the following techniques and possibilities will be dealt with:

• Printing with blocks/ printing with silkscreen
• Polychromatic effects on cotton using Indigo together with mordant processes

Class is for advanced level – not for beginners.
All kinds of natural fibers will be dyed in these vats, so students can play and experiment.

27,28, 29 AUGUST 2012
10:00-16:00
Fee € 300,– excl. material
Coffee / tea & lunches included
Pre registration and Pre payment required. Check availability first

Organizer: Karina van Vught  kvvught@zijdelings.com (English spoken)
Location: Zijdelings www.zijdelings.com
Kapelstraat 93a – 5046CL Tilburg – Netherlands

3-Day workshop w/ Joan Morris (July 27-29, NH)

“3 Vats – 3Days – 10 Ways” 

LongRidge Farm, Westmoreland, NH

10 pole-wrapped resist techniques, taught over the course of 3 days, using indigo and woad. A 3-day workshop focusing on the use of indigo with pole-binding (think arashi shibori) producing a set of results to feed a lifetime of creative pursuit. This class will focus on 3 preparations of indigo vats (including woad), that will give the student an array of pole binding techniques to use as compositional tools in their studio work. Among the 10 demonstrations of pole wrapping, we’ll look into compound shaped-resist processes that put together sewing and pole wrapping for a unique and beautiful outcome. Students will be led through the construction of all 3 indigo vats—from the large (30 gallon) reduction vat used at room temperature, to the small individual indigo and fructose vats that each pair of students will share.

Visit www.longridgefarm.com/events for details. Pre-registration required.

Natural Dye + Shaped Resist with Joan Morris (2 offerings: WA and NY)

If you’ve ever picked up a copy of “Memory on Cloth: shibori now” then you’ve seen the beauty of JOAN MORRIS’ work (featured on the book’s cover). This June, the textile artist and master dyer will be teaching two workshops (Washington state and upstate NY) on natural dye and shaped-resist techniques. Whether you’re on the west coast or the east coast, luck is on your side. Mark your calendars and make your plans; classes will likely sell out.

June 11-15 — “Shaped-Resist Dyeing with Natural Extracts” (Copeland, WA)
June 22-26 — “Shaped-Resist Dyeing with Indigo and Woad” (Canandaigua, NY)

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COPELAND, WA – Pacific Northwest Art School
June 11-15, 2012 (5-day class)
For more details, visit www.pacificnorthwestartschool.org or call toll-free 866.678.3396

*****

CANANDAIGUA, NY
June 22-26, 2012 (5-day class)
For details, contact Sara Burnett sjburnett@frontiernet.net

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“Shaped-Resist Dyeing with Natural Extracts”
5-day Workshop with Joan Morris

Explore shaped-resist dyeing using natural dyes, including indigo, woad (subject to availability), a variety of natural dye extracts, madder root, cochineal bugs, and walnut galls. *New topic to be covered: woad dyebath, a process at once similar to and different from indigo dyeing. More natural dye extracts may be added to class materials if available (e.g. coreopsis extract). Color shifting (with ammonia, vinegar and iron) presents additional color possibilities for each of the dyestuffs. Appropriate for students of all levels, from beginner to those with prior experience and a desire to expand their vocabulary, experiment, sharpen skills, and gain greater control of materials.

Please note this is a forum for making samples, experimenting; it will not be possible to dye large yardages. Beginners can expect to learn at least 10 forms of shaped-resist (shibori) while they gain knowledge of mordanting with alum and dyeing with natural dyestuffs. Experienced dyers may bring images or actual pieces of their work if interested in a dialogue about possible directions to take.

ABOUT JOAN. A textile artist who has been a practitioner of shibori since 1983, Joan has exhibited all across the world including notable commissions by Broadway’s “The Lion King” and by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Her shaped-resist textile works are in the permanent collections of Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (Smithsonian Institution), New York; Museum of Art, RISD; Takeda Kahei Shoten, Arimatsu, Japan; and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. www.joanmorrisartist.com

Shibori with Natural Dye, Ana Lisa Hedstrom (April 21-22, SF)

Spring is the ripe time for new inspiration! ANA LISA HEDSTROM will be teaching a 2-day Weekend Workshop this April at the Sewing Workshop in San Francisco. If you’ve ever been interested in learning this versatile technique and want to get your hands dirty in some dye, this is the class for you. Suitable to all levels, beginner to experienced.

“Shibori with Natural Dyes”
Saturday + Sunday, April 21-22
Sewing Workshop, San Francisco
10:00-5:00
details here

Natural dyes are a “natural” for Shibori techniques. We will learn traditional and contemporary adaptations of arashi pole wrapping, stitching, and clamp resist. Students will develop a range of colors by using indigo, and extracts of madder for red, and osage orange for yellow. We will over dye indigo for greens and purples. The class will finish a series of samples and silk scarves. Ana Lisa will bring samples of Japanese indigo dyed shibori, examples of her own work, and books and catalogs for inspiration and education. We will also do discharge dyeing (color removal) of natural dyes with lemon juice. This class is for beginners or experienced dyers.

Our ‘Natural Dye w/ Michel’ DVD gets stellar reviews in UK Journal

The Journal for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers, the official magazine for the Association of Guilds for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers (UK), featured a glowing review of our DVD in the current Spring 2012 issue (issue 241, p 41). Sincere thanks to Jane Deane, Peter Tavy, and Dawn Willey for including our DVD in your publication.

“Michel’s directions are very detailed and precise so this is an ideal resource for those who want to work through his techniques – it is a workshop, not an overview of his work. For the serious natural dyer, whether experienced or beginner, and for a Guild library, this DVD is an excellent source.”

DVD can be purchased here