NEW! Printing with Natural Dyes

In this class you will learn how to mix your own natural dye printing paste and screenprint on fabrics and papers, troubleshooting along the way. 

From extracted dyes students will mix their own paste and learn how to balance the right combination of thickeners and why some don't work properly. Experimentation with modifying colors, different screen mesh sizes, printing on different surfaces, and how to properly treat your fabrics before and after the process will also be worked on and discussed.

Students should be familiar with screenprinting, bring their own silkscreen, and have a bit of knowledge about natural dyes (though not completely necessary). You are welcome to bring blocks in as well, however traditional wooden blocks that are carved deep work best. Linoleum and stamps tend to not print crisp lines. Experimentation is welcome and small traditional blocks will be on hand to play with.

A few materials will be available to print on but attendees are expected to bring their own materials. Fabrics will need to be prepared with mordanted ahead of time. Though some dyes we will use do not need mordanting. We will talk about the mordanting process and which I have found to be the best. If you are not familiar (or don't have the time) you can bring fabrics unprepared, they will likely just fade or not be as vibrant, so it's not completely necessary. 

If you do not have a silkscreen, I can prepare one for you. Choose "add silkscreen" to this order. It is not to keep, but lmk if you would like to and I can charge the replacement fee of additional $18. 

Please note that this is Printing with Natural Dyes, not Pigment. This will be a separate class or you can explore with me in a private sreenprinting series.

"Dyes and pigments are substances that impart color to a material. The term colorant is often used for both dyes (also called dyestuffs) and pigments. The major difference between dyes and pigments is the particle size. Dyes are much finer than pigments. Therefore dyes are not UV stable whereas pigments are usually UV stable.

Dyes, also known as colorants in which the coloring matter is dissolved in liquid, are absorbed into the material to which they are applied.

Pigments, on the other hand, consist of extremely fine particles of ground coloring matter suspended in liquid which forms a paint film that actually bonds to the surface it is applied to." -Science Clarified