"Greenest" Indigo & Basic Shibori Workshop (Nov 13, CA)

The 'Greenest' Indigo & Basic Shibori
with "Sustainable Natural Dyes” DVD launch

Short, hands-on workshop with Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, co-author and author of 2 definitive publications on Japanese and Contemporary textiles. View demonstrations of how to set up an indigo dye bath with totally organic elements commonly found, safely and inexpensively. Learn simple shibori techniques to use with natural indigo, a perfect combination for achieving charming blue and white patterns. Students will dye their own bandana scarf, using a sustainable vat.

This workshop is based on sustainable, natural dyeing methods of Michel Garcia as revealed in his new DVD, “Natural Dye Workshop by Michel Garcia: Colors of Provence Using Sustainable Methods," produced by Yoshiko I. Wada, founder of Slow Fiber Studios. www.yoshikowada.com

Sunday, Nov. 13, 10am to 12pm
$25
Beginners or novices welcome

Class size limited, please enroll early to ensure your spot.
Call Dharma Trading Store 415-456-1211

World Science Festival: Color, Science, Art History (June 6, The Met, NYC)

Some really great textile-art-science related lectures happening on JUNE 6 at the Met in NYC . Even better? They're FREE with museum admission. So what are you waiting for?

Explore the topic of color through science, art history, and the Met's collection. These events highlighted below are held in conjunction with the World Science Festival (JUNE 2-6) that takes place in New York City.

June 6, 2010

3:00p
Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color
Elena Phipps, textile historian
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Free with Museum admission


3:40p
Renaissance Venetian Colore: A Material Thing
Barbara Berrie, Senior Conservation Scientist, Conservation Division, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Free with Museum admission

4:20p
Indigo: From Mummies to Blue Jeans—A Universal Story
Jenny Balfour-Paul, Honorary Research Fellow, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; partner in Silk Road Connect
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Free with Museum admission

A Greener Indigo - workshop by Barbara Shapiro (Aug 28-30, No. Calif)

For you indigo lovers and practitioners, what better time than now to to learn a more ecologically friendly (and fume-free!) method of dyeing? Well, count your lucky stars. Barbara Shapiro will be teaching a 3-day workshop this fall in the idyllic northern California town of Mendocino. Read more about Barbara here or see previous posts about her workshops & lectures here

"A Greener Indigo"
Mendocino Art Center
August 28 -30, 2010
registration required

Discover the magic of indigo, one of the oldest and most influential dyes. Unravel the mystique and chemistry of traditional practices. Using an effective ecological formula revived from an 18th century vat, we will dye multiple samples in various fibers using shibori techniques and create a personal project. This fume-free formula enables contemporary artists to use natural or synthetic indigo in a safe, ecological studio environment.