1-1 DYEING SESSION

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My Studio

Rolvenden, Kent TN17

 

£155

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On this 2-3 hour workshop, you will learn the tradition of Mud Cloth, or earth dyeing, and natural plant dyeing on fabric. Using locally-sourced clays and dye plants from my dye garden I will show you how to dye and paint onto pre-mordanted fabric and yarns. You will also have a go at Hapazome, or hammer-dyeing, and bundle dyeing. The dyed fabric can subsequently be used in a craft or sewing project.

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Mud cloth, or Bogolanfini, is a unique textile process culturally significant to Africa. Originating in Mali, West Africa, mud cloth is worn by hunters as ritual protection and by women after their initiation into adulthood and immediately after childbirth, to defend against any dangers. In the Bambara language, Bogolanfini is made up of three words: Bogo, “earth” or “mud,” lan, “with,” and fini, “cloth”.

Strips of handwoven cotton are stitched together into a large cloth, then dyed and painted with intricate patterns and symbols using fermented mud or sludge. The cloth is first mordanted using tea leaves and branches, and sometimes will be buried in mud for up to a year.

‘Hapazome’ is a term coined by textile artist India Flint, which loosely translates to ‘leaf dye’. It’s also referred to as leaf or flower pounding as you hammer the plant materials onto the cloth.

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All materials are included.

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Please contact me to discuss specifics.

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On the workshop participants learn:

• The historical origins of pigment

• Responsibilities and health & safety of collecting natural materials and processing pigment

• The tradition of Mud Cloth, and the modern interpretation

• Hapazome and bundle dyeing technique

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Participants take home:

• Dyed cotton and yarn