My role as a facilitator is to gently guide participants to explore the natural world around them, tap into play and imagination, and experience the joy of making.
When creativity takes over, we let go of fear and embrace the unknown, we find new ways of thinking and being. My goal when designing workshops is to bring people and stories together. To provide a glimpse into what inviting creativity and play into our everyday could look like.
Workshops are 1-2 hours in length for in-person sessions and can be adapted to Zoom. They are suitable for and can be adapted to all ages, abilities, and skill levels. Everyone is welcomed and honoured as an artist in their own right.
Natural Dye Workshop: Bundle Dyeing Cotton
Natural dyeing has a long and rich history in communities around the world. Bundle dyeing is a simple, yet fascinating way to create texture and colour on cloth. Come learn the ancient magic and alchemy of dyeing fabric with plants and connecting with natural colour.
In this workshop participants will learn about the processes of mordanting cloth, preparing dye materials, how to bundle dye cloth. We will play with colours that are grown in gardens, foraged from the landscape, and gathered from our kitchens to bundle dye a cotton bandana, which participants will take home. All materials are provided, however you are welcome to bring materials that you’d like to experiment with!
Natural Inks Workshop
Cultures around the world have rich histories and stories related to colour. Natural colour derived from plants, rocks, and shells is used as part of ritual and everyday life. In this workshop we will dive into stories and folklore around colour. You will learn how to safely and ethically forage for and use kitchen waste to create natural ink. We will create colour swatches of inks made by the artist and experiment with adding modifiers to shift colour. Finally we will paint a postcard using natural inks.
Pressed Wildflower Art
Come learn about pressing wildflowers and local ecology! We will start by considering our ancestral connection to flowers and sharing flower stories. We will explore the basics of what local flowers and foliage, press best focusing on wildflowers that are abundant in our region. We will look at various methods of pressing and storing flowers. Lastly, we will create various compositions and designs using flowers pressed by the artist on handmade paper and cards. All materials will be provided.
Colours of the Land: Making Earth Pigments
Connect with the colours of the earth and create watercolour paints with ochres, clays, and charcoal. Learn about gathering and creating wild pigments, working with local binders, and painting on wild surfaces. We will tune in to the most ancient form of paint making and expression, share colour stories, and create paints through crushing and processing rocks. All participants will take home their own mini earth pigment watercolour set.
Places of Comfort: Making Miniature Worlds
We all have a place of comfort, whether real or imagined. In this workshop we will creatively reflect upon this theme through writing and drawing. We will transform ideas into a miniature world created using foraged, found, and upcycled materials.
Participants are invited to bring a teacup, mug, or vessel to create their world in, along with any materials they would like to incorporate — rocks, shells, dried flowers etc.
