Beginners Circle - Monthly Club
I teach several very intensive natural dye courses, for those ready to invest in becoming highly accomplished practitioners. However, for a long time I’ve wanted to do something that might be more accessible for those who are relatively new to the craft of natural dyeing, to help expedite learning the core fundamentals that will make them more confident to then pursue more intensive learning.
So, I’m starting a 12 month online Beginners Circle. Each month there will be a Zoom session for subscribers, in which we’ll focus on one key skill. It’s a great opportunity to chat directly, and to ask any questions about that month’s topic, and to learn at a pace that can be accommodated within the other commitments of everyday life. Those who already have some natural dye experience, but would like a refresher and/or more information about not just how to do something, but why fibre/mordants/modifiers/etc. behave the way they do, will also find the monthly club valuable.
Through the Natural Dye Education group I run on Facebook, and from my conversations with students over the years, I know that there are often a lot of fundamental misunderstandings about natural dye supplies and methods that routinely result in a one step forward, three steps backwards experience, a lot of wasted time and money, and frustration. I have also seen how with the rise in popularity in recent years of, in particular, ecoprinting and ink making, that many dive in, wanting beautiful results, but not appreciating that to get them involves having a foundation of solid natural dye knowledge.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
Each month’s session is grounded in:
health & safety
ecological protection
historic evidence & practices
applied chemistry made understandable for everyone
straight forward how-to techniques
The sequencing of the topics is intentional (you can see a list of them HERE) - subsequent months build on knowledge and skills learned in the previous months.
“Mel’s scientific research and knowledge of history are the backbone of this course. I like how she has laid out steps for our own learning, using video and text materials to teach, as well as the use of internet resources to further elucidate. I’m thankful for her sharing her own experiments and wide knowledge of the craft. I also appreciate her quick responses to our questions, her clearing up misunderstandings we may have, the opportunity to interact with others in the course through the Zoom meetings, and most important her encouragement.”
Format:
Zoom sessions are on the 1st Saturday of each month.
Approximately 1.5 hours, with a live demo, recorded demo, or both, with two-way discussion throughout.
The recording of the Zoom session stays up in the subscriber area of my web site until the next Zoom session, then is removed and a downloadable pdf of written instructions for the previous month’s technique(s) is provided.
The information for each monthly session will outline what’s in-scope and what’s out of scope for that topic. As this is an introductory exploration of many gorgeous natural dye techniques, students will learn solid, evidence-based fundamentals for successful results to support further exploration of more advanced methods on their own or with a teacher.
I also provide recommended resources, including books, blogs, and teachers whose work I respect.
How To Participate:
Registration opens on April 1, and the monthly sessions begin on May 6 (the 1st Saturday in May).
The registration fee will be announced on April 1. It is very modest and is intended to reduce financial barriers for those wishing to learn effective natural dye fundamentals.
Also on April 1, a discount code will be announced that will be good for 24 hours only. If you don’t want to miss out on the discount code, you can sign up to be notified of registration launch and the code using the form below.
Hope to see you in the monthly club!
