Song Conversations Collaborative Workshop

This half day workshop is a beginner’s journey into eco printing on silk, using plants to create natural dyes and unique prints on fibre. Our kaupapa (purpose) for the day is to create artisan dyed lengths of silk that will become the coverings of sound panels for Song Conversations Creative Studio. This will be a chance to produce collaborative works that reflect the surrounding landscape and reside in the music whare. All participants will also receive a blank silk scarf to dye for themselves and take home.

The workshop includes :

A korero from the tutor about the art form of natural dyeing and botanical printing.

A walk in the landscape foraging for suitable plant materials.

Learning how to create plant prints on textiles using a hot bundle technique.

Making a dye bath from plants to add colour to the work.

If the weather is gracious to us, we’ll ‘cook’ our bundles on the outdoor fire pit.

How to care for your dyed fabrics.

Please note, in this workshop we will not be covering how to prepare fabric before dyeing or dyeing with cellulose fibres, this is included in the full day workshop "From Whenua to Fibre".

Wear good walking shoes and warm clothing. Bring a small plate of kai for a shared lunch.

Please also bring from your own home environment, a small selection of leaves or flowers to add to our collection of dye plants. These do not need to be natives, just choose something that brings a piece of your home to the collaboration.