Do you remember the Natural Dyers Garden Coop program that EartHand offered in past years?
It was one of our favourites and the reason it isn’t offered anymore is because we liked it so much we took the model and invested into ALL our paid programming.
Now, instead of times you are expected to be in the garden – you choose which days for garden work fit your schedule, as well as which parts of the dyers studio- from local fleece to botanical prints.
What fits your creative needs and personal learning journey?
Tending the dye plants generally is grouped in with any stewardship day you see scheduled for Means of Production (MOP). Beyond weeding, path maintenance and fence care; most dye garden work happens in August through October for harvesting.
As with the Dyers Garden Coop model from our past, there is generally equal time investment from the studio workshop to the garden’s care. Each paid class in which you register will have a $ fee as well as # of credits listed. 2 credits required is equal to 2 stewardship sessions.
You can sign up for and complete these stewardship sessions anytime within a 6 month window of the workshop. And note- you can do ANY stewardship or community credit session- it doesn’t’ have to be a dye plant care session!
Dye Dates for Build your Own Adventure: click on any link for more info and registration.
Stewardship Sessions:
April 23– 6.8.30 pm evening planting session
May 21– 11am-2pm general spring work in top area of MOP
June 11 6.30-9 pm stewardship at Trillium will include materials prep for June 28
June 18– 6.30-9pm evening forage session for June 28th program and general seasonal tasks
many more dye-related garden sessions to be posted for later in the summer and fall, see all the stewardship opportunities here.
Dye Related Studio Events:
April 19th 1-4pm Fleece Washing Fundamentals with Nicola Hodges ($25, no credits)
June 9 6-9 pm Fleece Washing Fundamentals with Nicola Hodges ( $25, no credits)
These two sessions are both a chance to help Nicola wash and scour fleece from Barnston Island for our programs. Nicola is incredibly knowledgeable about best practice for fleece washing and how to make it simple for at home processing. If you have never washed a fleece before consider this session. For those with fleece know-how, you will enjoy stories from Nicolas’ wide range of experience and are sure to learn new tricks.
May 24th 11am-5pm Full Studio day for Spring woolly dye pots! ($83 plus 2 credits)
Each participant will leave with a significant amount (approx 8-12 ounces) of dyed local fleece from the dye pots created. Focus will be spring -seasonal light greens, yellows and pale pinks. See link for further details.
May 28, 29, 30, 31 Botanical dyes to woven object intensive with Anna Heywood Jones ($325 plus 5 credits)
An amazing opportunity to do a deep dive into local textile work from dying fibres to designing a small weaving. Two weekday evenings and a full weekend will leave participants ready to take on new projects as well as the enjoyment of your finished small weaving. Follow the link for more detailed information about this program.
June 28 1-5 pm Botanical Spring Prints with Sharon Kallis ( $80 plus 1 credit)
Including both BYO garments for the dye pot and cotton fabric panels that are provided pre-mordanted in alum, this session allows for easy and creative play with local seasonal colour. A simple beautiful way to create prints on cloth and clothing, this method is a great introduction to the world of natural dyes and will teach a simple iron mordanting method.
To be Announced:
Autumn woolly dye pots to be scheduled for mid late October.