Foraging and Processing Natural Materials into Inks and Paints.
Full day hands-on workshop.
Saturday 21 May 2022
10am - 4pm

This full day workshop is the most immersive session I offer, perfect for anyone who wants a hands-on exploration into colour-making. The session is designed to give you the tools and experience you need to explore the abundance of colour surrounding you. The morning will be spent in the hedgerows and shores collecting natural materials which will be processed into colour in the second half of the day. We will extract, boil and grind seaweed, rocks, botanics and earth; creating ink and pigment. Finally we will explore the ‘lake pigment extraction’ method and dig deep into modifiers; tweaking ph levels and adding oxides to create a spectrum of hues.

• Easy to find tools and materials required for bio colour making.

• Best practices for foraging and working with the seasons.

• Plant Identification and local ecology

• Site-responsive art and working with the land to create art.

• Step by step guide to 3 colour making processes - grinding, extracting and boiling.

• How to use binders and preservatives.

• Exploring modifiers, tweaking PH levels, adding oxides and lightfastness of colour.

• How to track your recipes and experiments.

• Colour history and resources worth exploring.

Each participant will be sent a list of tools and material that are suggested for the workshop. They will be also be given a recipe worksheet to support their bio colour experiments.
No previous experience is required. Full covid compliance and safety precautions will be ensured.