In person / Workshop / Dyeing
This hands-on natural dye workshop invites participants to explore how different metals interact with plant-based dyes to create shifts in color, texture, and meaning. Using materials such as madder, sappan wood, cape jasmine, and other botanical dyes, we will experiment with a range of natural fibers including wool, silk, cotton, and linen.
Participants will be able to choose from a variety of materials to work with during each session. Options may include cotton, wool, or silk yarns, wool roving, cotton shirts and bags. The workshop will take place across multiple sessions, with different materials offered each time to encourage continued experimentation and new discoveries.
This workshop is inspired by the artist’s research into Newtown Creek, a local waterway heavily affected by industrial waste, including long-term metal contamination. Being part of the local community has led her to wonder what kinds of pollutants exist in the environment around us, and how creative practices like dyeing can help us see and engage with these issues in new ways. Watching how metals alter the behavior of natural dyes becomes a way of making environmental pollution visible through fiber and color.
No previous experience is required. All materials are provided. This is an open invitation to anyone interested in color, material, and the stories they carry. Whether you are curious about natural dyeing, drawn to tactile experimentation, or interested in the environmental histories of New York's waterways, you are warmly welcome. Artists, makers, researchers, and neighbors are all invited to join.
Register Here - TBA
Jing Pei is a textile artist and researcher based in New York. Her work explores the relationship between materials, the environment, and memories from her upbringing. With a background in environmental engineering, she brings a scientific perspective to her practice, incorporating environmental data and site-specific research to investigate pollution, restoration, and ecological change. Her process is grounded in handcraft and material experimentation, using fiber to make visible what is often unseen in environmental systems. Jing holds an MFA in Textiles and an AAS in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design, and a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from Tianjin University. She shares her work through exhibitions, workshops, and collaborative projects that center sustainability, ecological awareness, and material curiosity.