Growing Color Virtual 3D: How to Plan a Natural Dye Garden

Growing Color Virtual 3D with Sarah Gotowka. The 3D series is a multidimensional workshop series designed for B.I.P.O.C. (Black, Indigenous, & People of Color) to deepen skills in specific farming and land stewardship practices in a culturally relevant, supportive, and joyful environment.

Join textile artist and farmer, Sarah Gotowka of Luna Fiber Studio as she plots out her natural dye farm for the summer. She will take you through her plant selection process, as she considers growing zones, harvest yields, her relationship to the history and culture of the plants, and of course - color.

Sarah will offer an in depth look at the extraction processes for each plant, as well as steps in the dyeing process, including preparation of cloth through scouring and mordanting and different modalities of dye application including submersion baths, solar baths, and printing.

Language: The instruction will be delivered in English.

Cost: The sliding scale is $5-100. Please think generously - what could be more important to contribute to than living food, land sovereignty, and skilled farmers spreading love and knowledge?!

The workshop is designed to be a culturally relevant and safe space that centers Black, Indigenous and People of Color (read why here).

Registration closes Wednesday, May 15 at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.

Presenter:

Sarah Gotowka (she/her) is the owner and director of Luna Fiber Studio, a textile studio based out of Trumansburg NY, specializing in weaving and natural dyeing, rooted in sustainability and social justice. Sarah has been weaving since 2005, and has been growing natural dyes since 2010. She received her BFA in Fibers and Material Studies from The Cleveland Institute of Art in 2007, and her MFA in Fibers and Material Practices from Concordia University in Montreal in 2013.

Since moving to the Ithaca area she has taught at SUNY Cortland, Cornell University, Ithaca College, The Johnson Museum of Art, Wells College, and New Roots Charter School to name a few. Sarah is a Korean adoptee and formerly worked for the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York. There she mentored youth adoptees, and advocated around trans-racial adoption issues. Weaving and dyeing have been a powerful healing tool in Sarah’s journey of exploring her roots and connecting to her ancestral knowledge.

Follow Sarah on Instagram @lunafiberstudio.

About the organizer

Soul Fire Farm is an Afro-Indigenous centered training farm committed to ending racism and seeding sovereignty in the food system. Our food sovereignty programs reach over 10,000 people each year, including farmer training for Black and Brown growers, reparations and land return initiatives for northeast farmers, food justice workshops for urban youth, home gardens for city-dwellers living under food apartheid, doorstep harvest delivery for food insecure households, and systems and policy education for public decision-makers.