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.