Weekend Intensive: July 11th 10-3pm + July 12th 10-2pm

Location: Local Earth Studio (located 8 miles outside Bozeman)

Join textile artist Mariah Palmer from Local Earth and master gardener/permaculture designer Kareen Erbe from Broken Ground as you explore a deeper connection with the local landscape through the art of color, community, and permaculture. 

In this workshop, we will learn all about growing and foraging for local plants to produce color for natural dyes and pigments for painting—all through a permaculture lens—deepening our understanding of the local ecosystem and learning the importance of holistic design.  

This course is beginner-friendly and will cover everything from using a permaculture approach to site selection to getting started growing your own dye plants and working with those plants to discover a wide range of colors and textures. You will learn the chemistry behind natural dyeing, what makes a plant a “dye plant,” and how to create a stable, insoluble pigment from those same dye plants. We will then learn how to use the pigments to make watercolor. You will also learn about ethical foraging and the benefits of clearing invasive plants, both to honor the plants and to support native species. In addition to learning how to achieve a rainbow of colors from homegrown and local plants, we will also learn a technique called bundle dyeing, which allows us to play with pattern and texture on fabric. Working with these various techniques will give you a hands-on, in-depth understanding of the chemistry behind plant-based color and the symbiotic relationship between fiber, plant, and mordant. 

We will also celebrate with an outdoor wood-fired pizza party at the end of day two!