Workshops | Playshops | Creative Learning Experiences

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November 9
Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers

An afternoon of creative play and exploration with small-batch, natural, handcrafted supplies from the Indigo in Green Studio Apothecary. Experiment with natural dyes for paper, botanical inks, earth pigment crayons, and handmade watercolors. Each material holds stories of connection with place, plants, and communities of Philly. Everyone will create a collection of works on paper using materials that are rooted in nature and made by hand.

Natural Dye, Ink, & Paint on Paper

past workshops

Saturday, October 5
Mount Airy Learning Tree
Wyck Historic House and Garden

Make your own ink for drawing and fine writing from natural materials using flowers and plants growing in our green spaces and simple ingredients found in your kitchen! Bottle experiences of connection with natural places and experiment with your own plant-based ink in this workshop

Botanical Ink Workshop

Saturday, October 19 10am – 12:30 pm
Morris Arboretum and Garden
$60 | Morris Arboretum Members: $55

Explore the Morris and identify sources of color that can be used to make botanical inks from petals, leaves, drupes, and roots of the autumn season! After a plant walk, we will get to work making our own ink for drawing and fine writing, made from natural materials foraged in fall. Bottle sensory experiences and connection with nature together, then experiment with shifting the color of our own handcrafted ink to create a plant-based color palette for drawing, printmaking, and fine writing with dip pens and brushes.

Autumn Ink @ Morris Arboretum

Saturday, August 31
People's Kitchen | Reinhard Street Community Farm
FREE

In collaboration with People’s Kitchen Philly and Termite TV Collective, we shared plant stories and created botanical prints: sunprints using turmeric and rubbings using handcrafted color blocks made from turmeric, beeswax, and finely ground yellow rock.

Plant Imprints

May 4, 2024 | Sunday, Oct 15, 2023
Mount Airy Learning Tree

In this 2.5 hour workshop we made drawing ink using flowers and plants from the Ampersand Textile Studio Apothecary and fresh dye plants from Henry Got Crops / Weavers Way Farm Market @ Saul High School. We made a beautiful mess and experimented with shifting the color using modifiers in a collection of handcrafted plant-based inks.

Color From Nature: Botanical Ink Workshop

June 28, 2023 |Craft N’ Sip at The Lawn at uCity Square

We designed and created mini tapestries using Ampersand Textile hand-dyed botanical yarns on the HELLO Loom. Little looms, wine, and light fare provided by the Lawn @ UCity Square

Tiny Tapestries

Sunday, June 11 | Historic Rittenhouse Town

Invādō: Papermaking & Nature Walk

In this playshop we took a walk in the woods to identify plants and then made paper and explored what we could create with natural materials together. We made music while creating pulp from Japanese knotweed fiber, recycled paper from extra save-the dates, paper beads, and more. Participants brought curiosity for natural materials and an experimental crafty spirit, and left with handmade paper and awesome art experiments.

This project is supported in part with funding from the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation and the Marrazzo Family Foundation.

May 6
Pennypack Environmental Center
8600A Verree Road Philadelphia, PA 19115

Invādō: Printmaking with Invasive Plants

After a walk in the park and a chat about the “invasive” plants and common garden weeds in the area, we created nature prints using organic waste from gardens and park maintenance.

We had a fantastic time exploring different printmaking techniques using hammers, spoons, rubbing crayons made from peach pit charcoal and beeswax, and more to capture the shapes, textures, and/or colors of plants on paper and fabric!

Friday, April 28
Philadelphia Museum of Art

After a tour of Oneness: Nature and Connectivity in Chinese Art we explored ink-making in this workshop inspired by the exhibition. Everyone made their own ink and sampled it on handmade mini scrolls.

Color from Nature: Botanical Ink

Earth Day - Sat. April 22
Sheep Shearing Day | Fox Chase Farm

Weaving with Color from Nature

A beautiful spring day to celebrate the earth, shear the sheep, and enjoy the farm. We enjoyed collaborative weaving with natural dyed yarn on the rigid heddle loom and small board looms!

Photo: Wendi Wu @stillair_photo

Saturday, April 15
Pennypack Environmental Center
Philadelphia, PA

Spring Sun Prints

In this workshop, we took a stroll in the park, identified spring plants, and then made botanical cyanotype and anthotype prints using the power of the sun!

Friday, April 14
Pennypack Environmental Center
Philadelphia, PA

Nature Walk & Botanical Ink

After a walk exploring the early spring plants and we bottled the beautiful experiences of the day and made art with our own plant-based ink. Participants mixed their dye-based inks with binders, preservatives, and modifiers to adjust consistency and shift the color of their ink.