This workshop aims to teach the basic concepts of Botanical Contact Printing, a special natural dyeing technique. Also known as eco-print, this process uses leaves, flowers, seeds, barks and fruits to print colours and shapes directly on the fabric, creating unique designs. Each participant will have the chance to print two fabric samples - cotton and silk - and learn about dyeing plants, the different fabric types, and the use of mordants, or colour fasteners. In addition to the traditional dyeing plants, we will use plants collected through the city streets. In this way, we inspire a more comprehensive look of each participant to the nature that surrounds us, with all its generosity and beauty, even in an urban area like Vancouver.
Open to anyone interested in natural dyeing, handcrafting, and textile art, beginners of all ages (15 to 90 years). Minimum participants 6, maximum 16. Please register promptly to avoid disappointment.
Schedule: Saturday, August 26 1:30-3:30 PM Sunday, August 27, 1:30-4:30 PM
Fernanda Mascarenhas is a textile artist, natural dyer, performer, graphic designer and longtime Zen pracitioner from São Paulo, Brazil. She began her artistic journey through dance. After graduating at the University, she started working as a graphic designer. At the same time, Fernanda cultivated her artistic career as an interdisciplinary performer, before falling irrevocably in love with natural dyeing.
In 2016, she started researching natural dyeing to develop a costume for her performance work. This costume won a prize, which enabled her to travel to Japan to learn more about traditional ways of natural dyeing and weaving. Since then, Fernanda has been focusing on making textile art based on ancient techniques of natural dyeing with plants. Whilst a large inspiration comes from Japanese culture, the locally grown Brazilian plants have been the main material and passion for Fernanda.
Engaging with the slow process of natural dyeing in São Paulo’s urban area and time, she has respected the generosity of nature, its cycles and changes, while intending to reclaim the lost knowledge of plants, such as their medicinal use. Now she lives in New Westminster, Canada and looks forward to knowing the colours of Canadian plants in a deeper way.
Fee: $150 includes all materials, plus a modest contribution to the instructor and Mountain Rain Zen. Each participant will receive the booklet Botanical Contact Printing with tutorials and recipes used in the workshop.
Registration deadline August 12. We already have 8 spots filled, so register soon if you don’t want to miss this special opportunity.
