Festival of Stuff: Creating Colour Masterclass Series (3 days)

Thursday 16 June 2022 10:00am - 4:00pm

Booking opens at 7pm on Wednesday 18th May

Fully booked, join waiting list here

*** Ticket bookings go live on Wednesday 18th May at 7pm. Due to the popularity of the workshops we can only allow two Festival of Stuff workshop bookings per person across the week. ***

Lovers of pigment can sign up for our new masterclass series: Creating Colour with Lauren MacDonald. Using food waste, foraged organic matter, and spices we will transform textiles and paper with handmade dyes and inks.

Note: you must commit to all three days of this masterclass (Thursday, Saturday & Sunday). Because of the specialist materials that this masterclass requires, and the anticipated popularity of this series, we ask that you do not book this series unless you can guarantee that you will attend every session.

• Day 1: Textile Dyes from Food Waste - Thursday 16th June from 10am-4pm

In this session, artist and designer Lauren MacDonald will teach the fundamentals of botanical textile dyeing with dyestuffs sourced from household food waste. You’ll learn how to prepare your fibres for the dye bath, the dye bath, and learn physical resist techniques to create a variety of tie-dye patterns. At the end of the workshop, you’ll be shown how to dispose of the dye bath, with an option for making use of your left-over colour to create pigments in the following session. 

• Day 2: Foraging walk - Saturday 18th June from 10am -12pm 

You will join Lauren for a foraging expedition in Regents Park! Together you will identify and materials that lend themselves to natural dyes and inks, including the venerable oak gall.

• Day 3: Creating Inks and Pigments - Sunday 19th June from 10am-4pm

The final day of the series starts with a look at each other's dyeing results and gathered materials.  Then, you’ll learn a medieval recipe for making ink using oak galls, iron, and gum arabic. You’ll also have the chance to turn some of your dyes into pigments for painting, after which Lauren will help you to prepare your pigments and inks for use. Then, our Director Zoe Laughlin will lead the drawing session itself so you can put your new homemade inks and pigments to the test.

Lauren MacDonald is a multidisciplinary artist and designer. Her approach and aesthetic have been tempered through academic studies in Material Culture and Textile Science; vocational experience in the London fashion industry; and an ongoing obsession with materiality, form, and functionality. Her practice is textile-focussed and spans interaction design, installation, sculpture and two-dimensional stitched forms. 

No experience or skill necessary, all welcome!

 

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This workshop is part of the Festival of Stuff.

 

Image credits: photographs provided by Lauren MacDonald, instagram @working_cloth  

Part of Festival of Stuff,  Public Events