Join artist Deborah Manson for this weekend course that will introduce you to the gentle art of natural dye and botanical print using dried plant dyes, seasonal plants and food waste. We will experiment with different plants to produce a range of colour samples on silk linen and wool. Deborah will show you how to use modifiers to shift colours and you’ll produce your own sample book of traditional dye colours. You’ll also learn how to use plant materials to produce beautiful colours and patterns onto a silk scarf using the bundle dye method.

Over the weekend Deborah will demonstrate techniques, share her own work, her library of botanical colour and her passion for growing plants and natural dye.

This course is suitable for beginners as well as those with more experience.

Most materials are supplied although students will need to bring the following along:

• Rubber gloves
• Apron
• A small amount of foraged or waste plant materials as advised in advance of the course
• Dress making pins
• A pair of fabric scissors

Deborah Manson is an artist and maker based in East Sussex. She is interested in the connections between gardening, growing, making and wellbeing. Her studio is an extension of her garden where she grows and harvests dye plants. Her practice is informed by heritage textile craft process’s such as natural dyeing, patchwork and quilting and has expanded to include activities such as foraging, gardening, growing and processing plants, recording, repairing, sharing and facilitating. Deborah studied Visual Communication at Central at Central St Martins and in 2016 she gained her MA in textiles from Chelsea college of art. She exhibits her work in museums and galleries and runs workshops and courses for people of all ages and abilities.

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