FRESH INDIGO: FARM TO FABRIC, July 13, 2024
[REGISTRATION CLOSED – EVENT PASSED]
Come experience the fantastic turquoise tones of fresh-leaf indigo dyeing! We will dye a scarf and a headband with color from plants we will harvest ourselves at Gather Farm. Get to know the history, the growing, and the harvesting process of Persicaria tinctoria (Japanese indigo) and learn a few simple pattern-making techniques that you can replicate at home. Then, coax the colors from the plants to transform and bloom before your very eyes on the accessories you get to take home with you! The workshop will be taught by textile artists Sasha Azbel and Janice Lardey, who will each bring their own unique perspective and skills to the experience.
This workshop will take place on Saturday, July 13, from 10am to 12pm, at Gather Farm, 380 Greenville Avenue, Johnston. There will be beverages and snacks, including Gather Farm Ice Cream, small batch ice cream inspired by nature and highlighting ingredients grown at the farm. You can also purchase a weekly CSA share and pick it up right after the workshop if you’re interested!
The Rhode Island Environmental Education Association presents this event as part of the “Creative Practices for Environmental Learning” Workshop series.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Aleksandra (Sasha) Azbel (she/her) is the founder and creative director of Sashoonya, a sustainable textiles company in Providence specializing in natural dyes. Sasha works with local farms and ecosystems to grow and forage plants and algae to print and dye textiles for home and body. She believes that a close connection to nature brings us a sense of much needed belonging and beauty, and that textiles can help us deepen that relationship. She advocates within our local farm-to-fiber networks and believes that together we can bring back the textile industry in a way that restores soil, helps to clean air and water, provides habitat for pollinators, creates local jobs and experiences, and textiles that are reflective of our ecosystems. Sasha loves to share the magic and beauty of natural dyes with folks through exhibitions, workshops, talks, and demos. She wants to inspire everyone with the long-forgotten power of plants -their ability to create color for our clothes while nurturing our bodies and our communities!
Janice Lardey (she/her) is an experimental artist from Ghana and a graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Sculpture from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Janice’s profound interest in surfaces, color, patterns, and textures has been pivotal in shaping her artistic practice and her research into textiles and print cultures. Her works explore various media, including printmaking, painting, drawing, applique, dyeing, sewing, and papermaking. Her work examines themes such as societal gender roles, patriarchy, the everyday, sustainability, domesticity, loss, the transient nature of life, and material effects.