Plant to Pigment - Paints from Nature,
with artist Clara Boberg

Sunday, August 9
10am - 1pm
$80 per person

rain or shine
This workshop is eligible for Card to Culture discounts.

With a little bit of science and magic, Clara will lead you through how to go from plant to dye to pigment to paint in this beginner paint making class.

In this workshop you will learn about how to capture the plants around you on paper by turning a plant into a watercolor paint through a process called laking.

Participants will try the process themselves, and then have time to make their own paints to take home. This method of paint making can bring you closer to the plants around you and opens up a world of nuanced color to explore.

What you’ll learn

• The process of turning a dye bath into a lake pigment

• How to turn a dried pigment into a paint using a glass muller

• Basic recipe for a watercolor binder and other paint binders

• ID of popular local dye plants

What you’ll create

• Lake pigments using locally grown and foraged plants

• Tins of each color we made to take home as your own local watercolor palette

What you’ll receive

• Information sheet on the recipes and processes used during the workshop along with troubleshooting tips

• List of further resources, inspiration, and material sources

About the artist

Clara Hayong Boberg (they/he) is a New England-based textile artist and farmer that specializes in natural dyes and fibers. They fell in love with the circular process of growing and using dyes and fibers because of the amount of time and care it takes to build a good relationship with the soil, plants, and surrounding community. Their work explores ideas of reciprocity, identity, and relationship building. Their work expands beyond physical art into education and land stewardship in order to create communal spaces of curiosity and joy. They believe the process of working with and caring for the land in tandem with learning the social, environmental, and cultural histories of the spaces and materials they work with is required to be a responsible maker.