Mycopigments
Exploring California's Wild Mushroom Dyes
Regional Dye Palette
Every region has its own palette of mushroom and lichen dyes. This class takes an in-depth look at using locally found wild mushrooms and lichens as sustainable, safe dye sources. Starting with about 10 different species, with the addition of safe mordants and pH modifiers, we end up with twice as many colors.
Wild Harvest
All of the dyes used are ethically harvested, dried, and weighed (with some fresh material if available). Students learn about mushroom safety, identification basics, habitats and ethical harvest. They receive a customized color guide to the best regional dye mushrooms and learn where to go for help with identification.
Working with Fiber
We will be working with wool and silk fiber. We will go over the steps to preparing fibers for the dye bath. This includes scouring, mordanting and how to avoid felting yarn. Yarn for class will be pre-mordanted to allow ample time to focus on the dyes; however we will add mordant directly to the silk scarf dye pot to demonstrate that technique as well.
Shibori
There will be a large dye pot for a complimentary silk scarf. The instructor will demonstrate a few shibori (dye resist) techniques using pvc pipes, clamps, chopsticks, and or rubber bands. Additional blank silk scarves will be available for purchase in class for $5-$25.
Takeaways
At the end of the day students will take home a detailed recipe card, showcasing the rainbow of samples dyed in class, as well as a procedural handout to guide future exploration, and the customized guide to local dye fungi mentioned above. They will have a beautiful hand dyed scarf and the skills to repeat the process at home. This workshop covers all aspects of getting started with mushroom and lichen dyes and leaves the student prepared to carry on their own exploration.