CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
CLASSES RESUME NOVEMBER 2024 in Los Angeles!
Please browse the calendar below and select classes from there. Workshops are typically announced at least two months in advance and often fill to capacity.
Graham Keegan teaches one-day natural dye classes and longer form workshop series’ from the storefront in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
If you would like to explore a natural dye subject and don't see a group course listed, can't find a date that will work or you would prefer to learn privately, you can request and schedule an individually designed course through the contact form.
• Reach out directly through the contact form to Graham to schedule and confirm your date and time.
• Classes happen at the Natural Dyes workshop in Silver Lake, LA.
• One-Day workshop with 6 hours of devoted study with a lunch break. Typical schedule is 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM - though timing flexible to suit your needs.
• Subject matter of your choice. The one day format is suitable for any of the following single subjects: Introduction to mordant dyeing, Indigo Shibori, Indigo Print, Indigo Vat Maintenance, Intro to Block Printing, Rainbow Shibori, Hand-Drawn Dyed graphics on Fabric, Screen Printing, etc.
• This class can accommodate up to 3 attendees. For groups larger than 3, please confirm with Graham in advance.
• Study with Graham Keegan at his workshop in Los Angeles.
• This course is for a single student.
• The class has a 3 hour duration that can be scheduled for either morning or afternoon.
• Suitable single subjects include: focused study on specific folds for shibori, printing techniques for block work, introduction to indigo, introduction to mordants, establishing practices and facilities for your own natural dye work, extracting color from foraged plants, etc
• Please contact Graham to confirm subject, date and time.
Saturday, November 23, 2024 from 1:00 to 4:30 PM
Saturday, January 11, 2025 from 1:00 to 4:30 PM
Saturday, March 15, 2025 from 1:00 to 4:30 PM
Saturday, April 19, 2025 from 1:00 to 4:30 PM
All experience levels welcome and all materials are provided! No previous dye or textile background necessary.
This is an introduction to Indigo - the plant, they dye and the process! In the cozy studio in Silver Lake, we’ll explore the possibilities of dip-dyeing in the indigo vat with a focus on creating patterns using folds and clamps.
I’ll guide you through the best practices for preparing fabrics for dyeing, from fabric selection, to washing, scouring and post-dyeing treatment that will give your dyed goods the longest life possible!
We will discuss the process for extracting color from plants with as much show-and-tell as possible. From there we will mix up an indigo vat and I’ll demonstrate (and you’ll practice) dipping fabric into the vat in a way that allows for good color uptake and long health of the vat. We will fold and clamp a couple different pieces of fabric and then dip them into the indigo vat. From there we’ll discuss wash and aftercare options for your dyed goods, before sending you on your way with your newly dyed fabrics!
I’ve been working with indigo plants, pigment and pattern for the past fifteen years and I love to share my experiences. If you’ve done any indigo work in the past and have questions or observations that you’re curious about, please bring your questions and any material samples you’d like to share and I’d be happy to discuss them in the class.
Pattern is my speciality and I’ll be sharing the following base-folds which can be combined and modified to create infinite repeat graphics
• STRIPE - fat lines, skinny lines, pinstripes and gingham looks all originate from this one simple fold.
• GRID - ideal for lattices, zigzags and repeating dots or Moroccan tile looks.
• KIKKO - a hexagonal tessellation
• WEDGE - a radial fold perfect as a base for star and floral shapes
Make sure to show up wearing clothes and shoes that you wouldn’t mind getting some splashes of blue on!
Additional fabric, dyeing supplies, soaps and seeds are available for purchase at the shop before or after class.
As always, if you’re interested in attending as a photographer or videographer, I have complimentary spots available if you’re willing to share the images with me for use on my instagram, website or promotion for future classes. I can never get it together to teach and document the classes at the same time!
604 N. Occidental Boulevard, LA CA 90026
Sunday, November 17 2024 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday, January 12, 2025 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday, February 22, 2025, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday, April 20, 2025, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Limited to 8 Attendees
No experience necessaryIn this workshop, we’ll explore working with Indigo blue and the mordant dyes madder red and weld yellow.
We will layer these three primary color dyes on top of each other in order to create MANY different tones on a single piece of fabric - Grass green, plum, maroon, forest green, oranges and auburns.
All materials and supplies are provided. You’ll leave with at least two small square scarves dyed in your choice of color and pattern.
Pattern is my speciality and I’ll be sharing the following base-folds which can be combined and modified to create infinite repeat graphics
• STRIPE - fat lines, skinny lines, pinstripes and gingham and plaid looks all originate from this one simple fold.
• GRID - ideal for lattices, zigzags and repeating dots or Moroccan tile looks.
• KIKKO - a hexagonal tessellation
• WEDGE - a radial fold perfect as a base for star and floral shapes
This is a good-times introduction to a range of natural dye plants and processes!
Please contact me if you have any questions.
10:00 AM to 2:30 PM, Saturday, November 16, 2024
10:00 AM to 2:30 PM, Sunday, November 24, 2024
604 N. Occidental Boulevard, LA CA 90026
Join our favorite fall tradition!
If you tend, play host to or know of a HACHIYA persimmon tree - the larger teardrop shape ones, not the squatter FUYU variety, within a 45 minute drive from Dodger Stadium and would like to exchange fruit for a spot in the class , please get in touch. we are lining up fruit for the picking NOW as we require between 200-300 unripe (pale orange and firm) fruits for the class. A single mature tree often has more than is necessary for the class. WE WILL COME PICK THEM at your place in the week before - and will trim branches and clear dead wood so your tree will be more productive in future years. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about your persimmon tree and what to do with the fruits that often become food for flies, rats and squirrels when they splat down from the branches as they ripen.
In this one-day class we will explore both the artisanal pursuit of preparing Hoshigaki and persimmon vinegar AND exploring possibilities for dyeing using the fresh and fermented juice of the Hachiya persimmon!
Rose and I will be co-hosting this fruitful fall festival as we have for the past few years and we would be delighted to invite you at my workshop in Silver Lake.
We will begin the day with learning a bit about the history of this fruit in our region, selecting fruits for either dried preserving or vinegar making, then we’ll physically prepare the fruits so that they’ll have a chance to transform into the delightful, sugar coated treats - Hoshigaki! We’ll explain the vinegar making process (its so easy) and send you home with some to ferment on your own if you like!
After a lunch break, we’ll clear the table and set up to play with the fresh and preserved juice of the persimmon - naturally astringent. This tannin rich liquid is a traditional dye and fabric coating which darkens and becomes richer with time. You’ll leave with a bandana decorated in your own designs - permanent and washable! We will create patterns on the cloth by folding and dipping cotton into the potent persimmon juices.
Plan to bring an empty quart jar as well as a small clean cloth to carry your fruits home in.
The quote below is from Rose Fairley of Plant Friends in her blog post about the hoshigaki making process
We will be donating 10% of proceeds from this event to Tsuru for Solidarity
Persimmon trees are not indigenous to California. In the first half of the 20th century, many Japanese immigrants and Japanese American families planted persimmon trees as culturally important sources of food, medicine and dye. When I gather the fruit from these trees, I say thanks to the planters of these trees and the keepers of the cultural knowledge of this special process. I also mourn knowing that the US government incarcerated many of the same people who planted these trees. Of those who survived incarceration, many lost their homes and access to these mature trees after time in WWII Japanese internment camps.
Incarceration and displacement continue to impact communities in Los Angeles today. In deference to the gifts of the persimmons and the people who have tended this tradition as well as in acknowledgement of the history of incarceration and current oppression of immigrant communities, during persimmon season I donate to Tsuru for Solidarity, “a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates and allies working to end detention sites and support directly impacted immigrant and refugee communities that are being targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies.”
November 30 - December 1, 2024. Saturday and Sunday 1-4:30 PM
TWO DAY CLASS
Class size limited to 8
At the Natural Dyes Workshop, 604 N. Occidental Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90026
Over the course of a two-day weekend class, we will dive into the fundamentals of the traditional processes of block printing with natural dyes that dates back to some of our earliest recorded histories - thank you Pliny!
We will walk (sometimes crawl, sometimes run) through the process including all the following:
• Ideal Fabric Selection for this process and Scouring fabrics that require it
• Creating Blocks for printing using a range of materials - foam, wood, rubber, linoleum, etc
• Discussion and review of tools and supplies required for block printing on fabrics
• Mixing and blending of mordant print mediums
• Creating Print Pads to easily reapply print medium to blocks
• Stretching and Preparing fabrics and workspaces for printing
• Practice printing pastes onto fabric
• Drying, aging and rinsing of fabrics
• Immersion dyeing textiles
• Treatments for fabric to restore pH, provide wash fastness and UV shielding to add longevity for the print
I’m excited to share the years of process refinement that I’ve made as a result of working through countless mistakes. I’ve learned a lot of lessons the hard way and I’m happy to show you the paths around the numerous obstacles inherent to block printing with natural dyes!
Over the past year I’ve endeavored to hone this process, and have immersed myself in working with many different print mediums and block materials. Special consideration will be given in the class to working with Linoleum and rubber carved block surfaces.
All fabrics and materials are provided.
604 N. Occidental Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90026
1:00 to 4:30 PM, Saturday December 14, 2024
In this workshop we will explore decorating two lovely, square pieces of fabric about 27x27” that can be used and used again as gift wrapping for the holidays (or any days)! After dyeing the materials, we will practice different methods for folding and wrapping packages and gifts of different shapes and sizes.
• learn the basics of indigo dyeing such as mixing up a vat, proper dipping etiquette and washing suggestions
• explore different styles of creating graphic patterns on the fabric through folding, clamping or binding
• we will cover AT LEAST 4 major fold styles - Stripes, Grids, Kikko (hexagons) and Radial (flower and star shapes)
• we will present many different ways to fold, tie and use the wrapping cloths as a beautiful gift wrappig
• practice using your cloth as a wrapping for gifts between the sizes of a baseball to a shoebox - works great for bottles of wine - or even indigo dye kits :)
Sunday, December 15, 2024 1-4:30PM
604 N. Occidental Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90026
Learn how to create repeat folded patterns using Madder root - a natural red dye!
Ditch the single-use wrapping paper and come get in the holiday spirit with Graham and Auri!
In this afternoon workshop we will explore the method of itajime shibori - using folding, clamps and wooden blocks to create patterns on fabric - all in seasonal red, pink and white coloring.
You’ll leave the class with two furoshiki, square pieces of fabric that can be used (and reused!) to wrap holiday gifts! After making our fabrics, we’ll practice wrapping a few different styles of gifts and boxes with them.
• Learn to prepare fabric for natural dyeing
• Learn to work with home-grown Madder Root and Madder Extract - a beautiful, natural red color!
• Practice folding, clamping, dipping and dyeing fabrics in a plethora of forms to control the patterns we create.
• All materials provided!
No Natural Dye Experience Necessary. This is an introduction and we’ll cover material from the ground up! Creating graphic designs using indigo dye is notoriously challenging. I’ll be drawing from my experiences, successes AND failures to demystify the process and make it as approachable as possible.
At Natural Dyes, 604 N. Occidental Boulevard LA, CA 90026
Saturday, January 18 and Sunday January 19, 2025 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Pack a lunch or plan to grab a bagel from Maury’s next door. Meal break from 12:15-1:00 ish
Limit 6 Attendees
RESIST : Indigo only dyes what it can touch! In this workshop students will learn to create a resist paste from rice flour. This paste will be applied onto fabric by brush, stencil and screen. Wherever the paste is applied, the fabric will remain un-dyed while the rest of the piece absorbs color.
DISCHARGE : Indigo can be selectively dissolved my the strong oxidizer Potassium Permanganate. We will learn how to prepare the solution to dissolve the indigo and apply it to the textile using brushes. Screen printing with the medium will be demonstrated but we don’t have time to execute it individually.
Students will explore layering prints to create different tones of blue and will practice the challenging and subtle techniques of dipping printed pieces and maintaining the health of an indigo vat.
SATURDAY
• Discuss fundamental concepts of an indigo vat and mix up a reduction vat. Dipping etiquette, tools and supplies
• Making Resist paste and cutting VERY simple stencils.
• Coating print boards and stretching fabrics
• Developing different tones of indigo on the piece by dipping multiple times and in different strength vats.
• Demonstration of making Shinshi as will more intricate stencils than we are able to accomplish in our limited time together.
• Dyeing and preparing fabric to receive discharge medium tomorrow
SUNDAY
• Applying discharge to fabrics using a variety of methods - brush, block and screen print.
• Removing deposited manganese from fabrics using lemon juice
• Rudimentary layering resist on fabric to create multiple tones of blue on the same fabric.
• Treatment of fabric to provide UV and wash-fastness protection for the indigo
• Sharing of resources for further exploration
FINANCIAL AID IS AVAILABLE
To encourage attendance in workshops by those who are passionate and curious, but have concerns regarding finances, I recommend reaching out to me directly. I would be happy to discuss options with you to come up with a plan that works for us both!
INFORMATION REGARDING CANCELLATION AND REFUNDS FOR WORKSHOPS
If you are unable to attend:
100% refund is available up to 60 days prior to the start date of the course.
75% refund will be issued for cancellation 30-60 days prior to the start date of the course.
Less than 30 days prior to a course start date, no refund.
Registration is transferable to another person for no fee at any time prior to the start of the class.