This VIRTUAL workshop presented with Atlas Obscura takes place on March 1, March 8 and March 15 from 6:30-8:00 pm CENTRAL on Zoom. Recordings of each section are available up to 2 weeks after the final session.
Registration can be found here and full details are below.
What We’ll Do
In this three-part lecture series, learn to plant, grow, harvest, and store native plants for dyeing.
Course Description
Design your very own dye garden, sowing the seeds for a diverse palette of color. Over the course of three weeks, textile artist Aaron Sanders Head will walk us through the process of planning, planting, and maintaining the garden, as well as mechanisms for harvesting and storing dye materials you can use in your craft. We'll begin by discussing options for long-lasting, homegrown color, and we'll create a gardening schedule. Then, we'll cover how to start seeds indoors—eventually transplanting them to an outdoor space. While we'll focus on several typical plants used for natural dyeing (such as indigo, marigolds, and cosmos), the skills you'll learn can be applied to a number of plants. We'll end the course with a showcase from Aaron which will demonstrate how to begin using these plants to create color.
Syllabus at a Glance
This course includes three total sessions included in this purchase, each lasting for 1.5 hours on three consecutive Tuesdays beginning March 1.
Session 1 (Tuesday, 3/1, 7:30–9 PM ET): Planning your garden
Session 2 (Tuesday, 3/8, 7:30–9 PM ET): Starting your seeds
Session 3 (Tuesday, 3/15, 7:30–9 PM ET): Gardening & harvesting
Between Sessions:
While there won't be homework in a traditional sense, participants will need to spend some time researching their zone, seeking out seeds and materials, planting seeds, and maintaining their gardens. If starting a garden in real-time with the course, you should expect to spend around 1.5 hours each week outside of class, depending on how expansive your plans are.
Pricing Options
This course is available at three ticket prices, with a limited number of no-pay spots for students who could not otherwise participate. This tiered pricing model is designed to increase access for a wider range of students as well as to support our instructors.