InLiquid + FWM + Marafiki Arts Earth Day Indigo Dye Workshop
On Earth Day 2023, InLiquid, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, and Marafiki Arts presented a free Natural Dye Workshop for participants to try out techniques to repurpose, upcycle, and transform their existing textiles. Participants learned the history and basic process of natural, organic indigo dying and had a chance to try it out for themselves.
Use the instructions below to try it out for yourself at home!
About the Instructors
Cynthia Porter is a Philadelphia based artist who taught design and textile classes at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for more than 10 years. Her work, including her sculpture, has been featured in several solo and group exhibitions in the eastern United States, including the Samuel Fleisher Art Memorial and Drexel University’s Nesbit Gallery of the Arts and Design in Philadelphia, PA. She is co-founder of Marafiki Arts and maintains her studio at Crane Arts in Philadelphia.
Christina Roberts is currently the Director of Education at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, adjunct instructor at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and co-founder of Marafiki Ars. She specializes in contemporary collaborative art making practices using traditional textile printing and dyeing techniques with focus on sustainable methods. She carries out research to develop and implement programs for international and local community outreach initiatives.
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) is an internationally acclaimed contemporary art museum devoted both to the creation and presentation of innovative works of art. Its Artist-in-Residence Program provides artists at all stages of their careers with the opportunity to collaborate with FWM as they experiment with new materials and new media, taking their work in fresh and often unexpected directions. Founded in 1977 by Marion “Kippy” Boulton Stroud (1939-2015), FWM presents ambitious exhibitions which convey a story of contemporary art that unites process with finished works.
Marafiki Arts (meaning friends-all) works with the Kamba community in Wote, Kenya to make textile products using hand-spun cotton, eri silk, sisal, hand-woven cloth, silkscreen printed fabrics, and natural dye colorants. Our products use natural organic fibers and natural plant dyes grown locally in Kenya. Through the sales of these products, Marafiki Arts is able to raise funds to train, support, and promote self-reliance for members of this community.
Marafiki Arts supports training programs, artistic exchanges, and research programs that align with the natural resources, traditional crafts, and heritage of the Kamba. The programs are conducted in our textile workshop in Wote, equipped with looms, a ten-meter printing table, and additional work spaces.
