Natural Dye, Ink Making Workshop

Natural Dye & Ink Workshop

Date: 15th February 2024 

Time: 10AM-4.00pm
Location: The Corridor Project

Join us for a hands-on workshop exploring the alchemy of natural dye and ink making in a site-based learning environment. This workshop will introduce participants to sustainable pigment extraction using locally sourced flora while learning about conservation and science practices through creative expression.

What to Expect

Participants will experiment with dyeing, staining, and marking natural fibre fabrics using handmade dyes and inks. The workshop will also cover ethical harvesting techniques, sustainable dyeing practices, and the role of natural pigments in conservation efforts.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

Morning Session

• Welcome and introductions
• Overview of natural dye and ink-making processes
• Discussion on incorporating natural pigments into creative practice
• Outdoor in the field observations: identifying local plants that produce colour
• Safe and mindful harvesting of plant materials
• Preparing harvested materials for dyeing

Afternoon Session

• Extracting dyes and inks from prepared plant materials
• Dyeing and marking fabrics with handmade pigments
• Introduction to mordants, including rust water iron mordant
• Exploring surface marking techniques with natural inks and dyes

Additional Notes

• Pre-selected plants known for their colour properties will be processed in advance to ensure efficient dye extraction.
• If suitable plant materials are limited, food scraps with dyeing potential will be incorporated.
• Some plant materials requiring overnight soaking (e.g., barks, seed pods) will be pre-prepared by facilitators Emily and Clementine.

Materials Provided

• Rust water and copper ink
• Two portable stoves (four burners total)
• Large dyeing pots and small ink-making pots
• Selection of natural fibre fabrics (wool, silk, linen, cotton)
• Brushes, jars, plastic containers
• Gloves for working with mordants and copper ink
• (Optional) Small canvases for fabric stretching

This workshop is perfect for artists, designers, community and anyone interested in sustainable textile practices, and natural ecologies. No prior experience is necessary 18+ recommended.

ABOUT THE TUTORS 

EMILY EBBS

Emily Ebbs’ process based practice evokes the emotional residue of trauma. She focuses on the idea of the stain. The stain shows signs of something marked or discoloured that is difficult to remove where she finds it is closely linked to the idea of trauma. It is in the staining of materials, the tearing up of unfinished or unwanted works and stitching them together with new fabric that make up her process. Her work is a way of reflecting on her past experiences where art making can aid in recovering from trauma.

Emily Ebbs is based and practising on Gadigal Land. Emily won the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olly Art Centre Nancy Fairfax (AIR) award, 2022. Ebbs also won the Prix Yves Hernot painting award, 2022. She has been a finalist in the Mosman Art prize 2023 and the Black Town City Art Prize 2025. 

Her most recent solo exhibition, ‘Thresholds’ at Hake House used natural dying processes learnt on her residency at The Corridor Project in 2024. 

CLÉMENTINE BELLE McINTOSH

Clementine Belle McIntosh is an emerging rural artist based in Gilgandra NSW, the waterhole meeting place of the Wiradjuri, Wailwan and Kamilaroi peoples. In a collaborative and nonlinear art making methodology, McIntosh produces predominantly textile based and  site-responsive installations. Her keen focus lies in the act of mark-making to superimpose local dialogues, exchanges and relationships; metaphorically deconstructing western dualistic ideologies creating the “other” (other as nonhuman and/or strangers). 

McIntosh graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours 1) from the ANU School of Art & Design in 2022 and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the National Art School in 2020.