Join Mariah Palmer from Local Earth and Kareen Erbe from Broken Ground as you embark on a journey of deepening your connection with the local landscape through the art of color, community, and permaculture.
In this 6-part series, we will follow the seasons and learn all about growing and foraging for local plants to produce color for natural dyeing. This series will cover everything from using a permaculture approach for site selection to planting and growing dye plants and working with those plants to discover a wide range of colors. You will also learn about ethical foraging and the benefits of clearing invasive plants as a way to both honor the plants and support native species. In addition to learning the foundations of natural dyes, we will study various design techniques, including bundle dyeing, eco printing, and printing with direct application of mordants. Working with these various techniques will give you a hands-on, in-depth understanding of the relationship between fiber, plant, and mordant.
Join us for an immersive, hands-on experience this growing season!
This is a six-part in-person series that includes video recordings and written documentation for each lesson. While the course is designed for in-person instruction, you will have access to every lesson via video, written course materials, and quizzes. If you are not able to make every lesson in person, you can easily catch up via our online Teachable platform. You will also have access to all the materials in perpetuity, so you can go back and review the course long after the session is over. See the full schedule and itinerary below.
Space is limited, so register early!
Registration deadline is May 3rd.
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, you 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 your 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. You will then learn how to use the pigments to make watercolor. We will also cover 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. 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 celebrate the end of the workshop with an outdoor wood-fired pizza party!