Natural Dye Colors of Europe: Dye + Mordant = Paint, A 2-Day Workshop with Elin Noble
Live, In-Person
Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced
Saturday / Sunday, September 6 & 7, 2025
10:00 - 16:00 with a lunch break
WSNF’s Slow Fiber Studio Annex, 1825 Eighth Street, Berkeley, CA
$320 / $285 WSNF Member
Class Materials: $20 (in cash is collected on behalf of the instructor)
Open Studio for Independent Work:
Monday, September 8, 10:00 - 13:00
$30 donation for non-members (cash or check collected on site) / Free for students who are WSNF members.
Description
Explore an exciting method of painting and printing that has fewer steps than traditional natural dye methods. The dye extracts and mordants are mixed together, making a dye paint that is ready to apply directly to the cloth using hand-applied printing and painting techniques. Once dry, the cloth is steamed for color permanence. The color palette is limitless, the process is direct, and the results dynamic.
A Student Supplies List describing what students are required to bring will be provided upon registration.
Our Instructor
https://www.elinnoble.com/
We are thrilled to welcome Elin Noble to our Berkeley studio in August as our 2025 Summer Resident Artist. Elin is an internationally recognized master dyer and artist as well as author.
Decades of meticulous work and research on dyes and resist dyeing techniques let Elin “think like a dye.” She says, “We may want a dye to behave a certain way, but it’s not about us. It’s about the dye.” Elin studied in France with our master natural dye phytochemist, botanist, and historian, Michel Garcia, and later with a Danish dye chemist, Joy Boutrup. Elin built her knowledge from a practical understanding of dye chemistry and an artist’s curiosity to explore her materials to the fullest. Her approach is well-organized, with attention to detail, patience, and the ability to embrace surprises.
Elin’s trademark style is to dye large swaths of fabric as if painting–adding and subtracting dyes, layering, and building.
Elin is offering two additional workshops while in Berkeley:
Indigo & Clay Resist Dyeing August 16 & 17
Color Blanket August 23 & 24
