October 15, 2025 - October 19, 2025(9am - 5pm)

Color Alchemy: Unlock the Vibrant Magic of Funga and Flora

Taught by: Julie Beeler

Workshop Fee: $750.00

Ready to dive into the magical world of fungi and natural color? Whether you are enchanted by the beauty of wild mushrooms or fascinated by the art of botanical dyes, this workshop offers the perfect blend of science, creativity, and hands-on exploration. All week long we are going to be tapping into the colors hidden in nature’s most surprising places! Join artist, farmer, and Mushroom Color Atlas creator Julie Beeler as she takes you on a vibrant journey through the funga and flora kingdoms. You will learn how to unlock the mesmerizing hues from wild mushrooms and easily grown plants while discovering sustainable practices that feel refreshingly radical in today’s world. Throughout this workshop, we will roam through the property, gathering natural treasures for dyeing, while discussing ethical foraging and identification skills. Then, in the dye studio, we will create a kaleidoscope of colors, delving into the art of over-dyeing and learning to achieve stunning results on different fibers like wool, silk, and linen. Imagine turning leaves into blue, roots into reds, and blossoms into brilliant yellows and mushrooms into the rainbow beneath your feet. Everyone will create their own Japanese-inspired, handmade dye journal to house all these beautiful swatches. From eco-printing your cover to stitching it all together with your custom-dyed thread, this journal will be a beautiful keepsake of your colorful adventure. Expect plenty of opportunities to explore the farm’s natural wonders, ask all your burning questions about foraging and dyeing, and soak up the beauty of the land around you. This workshop is ideal for those with experience in natural dyeing who want to take their practice to the next level — and have a lot of fun doing it! Students will leave with an understanding of how to work with dye mushrooms and plants to achieve a range of colors across a variety of natural fibers (wool, silk & linen), in-depth expansion of mordanting techniques to optimize vibrant hues, exploration of overdyeing techniques between funga and flora, basic eco printing and itajime shibori skills, techniques for naturally dyeing paper, and learning the Japanese stab binding method.

Skills and Techniques:

  • Define/Recall different mushroom and plant species, types
  • Describe/Explain the identification components of different dye mushrooms and plants
  • Apply/Demonstrate creating mushroom and botanical dye baths
  • Analyze/Determine the properties of the dye bath to reveal the color
  • Create/Make various dye swatches
  • Evaluate/Compare mordanting and dyeing methods
  • Design/Develop a Japanese-inspired natural Funga & Flora Dye Journal

 

Materials Fee: $75 paid directly to the instructor

Special Tools or Equipment: Fine-tipped black SHARPIE marker, writing pen & note-taking supplies, apron (if you prefer to protect your clothes), gloves (if you prefer to protect your hands), water bottle, small jars to bring home any leftover dye baths

Workshop Policies: Please be sure to read our 2025 policies before you register for a workshop which can be found here Workshop Policies

5 in stock

Housing inventory is low. Please email karen@sanbornmills.org for availability.
(please choose all meals if you are staying on campus.)
We ask students to purchase a meal plan. Our chef can accommodate most dietary needs so please note any restrictions you want us to be aware of on the checkout page.
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