September 27-30, 2010 (9am-4pm)  $345 + $95 material fee

Plant based dyes bring a fresh palette to contemporary textile arts. The dyes to be explored in this workshop include yellows (Osage, fustic and weld); a brilliant range of reds from coveted colors such as cochineal, lac and madder; purples and greys from logwood as well as walnut and cutch for rich tonal browns. During the workshop many techniques will be explored including brushwork, silk screening and printing with special antique wood blocks, as well as natural discharge printing and painting using both thickened and watery techniques. Indigo will be introduced for overdyeing textiles which have been resisted with simple stitching and clamp & fold techniques. The final step will include the application of pure metallics including silver, gold and copper leaf and a range of metallic Setacolor pigments. Participants will be working with a selection of special hand woven silk and cotton gauze scarves, as well as shawls from Africa, India, SE Asia, and linen from Eastern Europe.