Spring Explorations in Eco-Printing

Learn all about printing with natural pigments for creative projects during the spring season! During this 2-day workshop, students will learn the basics of eco printing and natural dyeing with locally foraged plants and food waste onto different types of fabric and paper, as well as beginner book arts techniques to create small, folded and stitched books. During springtime in New England, many plant species, such as Maples, often print varied colors than they do during the rest of the year. The interconnection of nature within these practices will be focused on as time will be offered to create inside and outside of the studio space. This immersion into the farm campus and current season will help to inform creative experiments throughout the class. Participants will be encouraged to bring a cloth item from home to ‘jazz up’ and recycle into a new printed garment or fabric that holds memory of the weekend and season using plants. This class offers a combination of outdoor foraging, printmaking, photography, bookmaking and fiber processes, thereby offering a realm of possibilities that allow for full exploration with each mode of making.

Students will first learn how to properly prepare different fabrics to mordant; a crucial step to ensure consistent lightfast and washfast colors. After an introduction to mordanting and discussion of slow fashion, students will create their own unique eco prints using local pigments. Exploring the vast realm of possibilities within this technique, students will print onto cotton, linen, and silk fabrics as well as watercolor paper to understand the scope of creative potential when using varied materials. Students will be encouraged to work intuitively by embracing mistakes and releasing perfection. Participants will create hand-bound pamphlet stitch journals and accordion fold books using their printed papers. These meditative techniques yield unique, one-of-a-kind results, and provide opportunities to let go while collaborating with nature. All levels of experience are welcome!

Skills and Techniques:

• Sustainable & mindful foraging techniques
• Suggestions for proper plant identification & safety
• Basics of mordanting (fabric pretreatment)
• A basic understanding of the eco printing & natural dyeing process through recipes & step-by-step instructions on fabric & paper
• Bundling and fabric preparation techniques that yield different printed results
• How to care for your printed fabrics
• Resources for continued making & learning on your own

Materials Fee: $50 paid directly to the instructor

Special Tools or Equipment: Apron & rubber gloves (optional to keep clothes & hands clean), Sketchbook or phone for note-taking (optional; full recipes & instructions will be provided digitally and in print), Foraged plants (Optional but very helpful; many will be provided – A full list of suggested plants will be provided prior to the workshop, At least one garment/fabric piece from home to mordant & print onto

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