Week 1:
Intro, Dyeing with tannins and iron.

Week 2:
Dyeing with lichens 1
Where: Skofield Park, we will meet at 10AM on the parking lot [click here for map]

Wear long pants, there is a fair amount of poison oak in the park.
We will be picking specks of Flavopunctelia flaventior from the ground. We will spend an hour or so in the park then go back to our dye lab on campus.

Week 3:
What: Dyeing with mushrooms (Omphalotus olearius - jack-o'-lantern mushroom), mordanting with Alum
Where: The Dye Lab

Week 4:
Dyeing with plants and bugs
Where: More Mesa, we will meet at 10AM in the parking area at More Mesa [click here for map]

Wear long pants, there is a fair amount of poison oak in the park.
We will be picking non-native plants and some cochineal. We will spend an hour or so in the park then go back to our dye lab on campus.

Week 5 (April 29):
Dyeing with and bugs continued
Where: The dye lab

Week 6 (May 6):
Home experiments
Where: at home

Week 7 (May 13):
Eco-Printing/Bundle Dyeing
Where: The dye lab

Week 8 (May 20):
Mordanting and testing for final project
Where: The dye lab

Protein fibers (wool/silk/cashmere):

1. Scour: Wash and rinse the item very well. IMPORTANT Use the same temperature water for the wash and all rinses, touch the item gently. If in the dye lab you can use the Unicorn Power Scour cleaning liquid.
2. Mordant (from the big bag of alum, NOT the alum acetate)


Plant/Cellulose fibers (cotton/linen):

1. Scour (click on instruction)
2. Mordant (make sure to use the alum acetate)

Week 9 (May 27):
Indigo and lichen dyes.
Where: The dye lab

Week 10 (June 3):
Final project critique, finishing up charts/note books, scanning samples. Where: The dye lab

Due Week 2:
Sign up for a Flickr account.
Post a picture on Flickr of yourself with the tags "185LJ22" and "selfie".

Look at ways to document natural dyes and color charts and think about how you will construct yours.
See examples on my pinterest board and look around on the web.

Due Week 3:
Watch Mushrooms for Color
Read LICHEN DYES (page 65-69)
Post a photo of your lichen jar to your Flickr account (if your friend has the jar, ask them to send you a pic.). Tag it with "185LJ22", "lichen" and "w1"

Due Week 4:
Watch Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color
Post a current photo of your lichen jar to your Flickr account (if your friend has the jar, ask them to send you a pic.). Tag it with "185LJ22", "lichen" and "w2"

Due Week 5 (April 29):
Start working on your chart/notebook or other way of presenting/storing your samples. Be prepared to present your idea in class.

Due Week 6 (May 6):

Due Week 7 (May 13):
1. Home dyeing assignment: make dye baths of at least two different plants (or bug). Dye the wool sample you got in class on friday. Try to make several colors from each dye bath by modifying the ph value using lemon/vinegar (acidic) and baking powder (alkaline). Post a pic or two to your flickr account. Tag with "185LJ22" and "home". Bring your samples to class.

2. Bring flowers, leaves etc. for eco-printing/bundle dyeing. I have silk we will use. Watch the videos below:
Plant Magic - Eco Printing with Jennifer Johnson

HOW TO BUNDLE DYE WITH FLOWERS AND FOOD WASTE

Inspired by nature

Eco print / Botanical print demonstration
This one is intersting, the flowers are used both to make imprints and as resists for a dye.

And there are many more videos on the subject, just search around if you are interested.

Due Week 8 (May 20):
Take a photo of your silk scarf and post to your flickr account. Tag the picture with 'ecoprint' and '185LJ22'.

Bring a something to mordant to class. Either the garment/fabrics/yarn for the final project and/or one of a similar type to do a test mordanting on.

Look for garments in thrift stores, check the labels. Protein fibers (wool/cashmere/silk) are easier to dye. But you can try plant fibers as well (linen/cotton). Michaels have cheap cotton t-shirts. Non-natural (nylon, polyester etc.) fibers might or might not take up any dye.

You can also bring plants to make tests for your final project.

Due Week 9 (May 27):
1. Bring your lichen dye jar to class.

2. Bring your eco dyed silk bandana to class.

3. Be prepared to talk about your final project (no written proposal needed)

Recommended viewing:
Blue Alchemy: Stories of Indigo
(Watch for free on Kanopy.com if you have a SB or Goleta library card)

Due Week 10 (June 3):
Final Project (or bring it to the lab on June 10th at 11AM)
The final project should be documented on the flickr site. Please post as many pics you think are needed to show the project, at least one with you or someone else wearing it. Tag the pics with '185LJ' and 'final'. In the description write what plants you have been using and what the material is etc.

Bring your color chart/notebook. Also please upload a picture of it to flickr. Tag the pics with '185LJ' and 'chart'.

Upload a last picture of your lichen dye jar to flickr. Tag it with "185LJ22", "lichen" and "w7".