Tinctorium Plant Lab: A Creative Camp at Waking Life Music Festival

Concept and inspiration: Over the years I've taught a lot of workshops about natural color. I absolutely love my students and most come with an open heart and mind. Often, though, there is so much excitement to get the recipe and learn the processes step-by-step (which is totally normal for a paid workshop), but sometimes I wonder what would happen if all the materials were laid out with just a little bit of direction. Would people understand how the materials and processes come together? Could they reach the conclusion on how each tool can be used based on its intrinsic properties? What surprising results might come from this exploration? How did the first people to tease out natural color figure it out? The Waking Life Creative Camp was the perfect place to answer these questions.

My Proposal: What I propose with this artist camp is to create a space where people can be introduced to the secret color hiding behind plants they pass by every day in an alchemic and intuitive approach. A witches' den meets alchemists’ laboratory. Nothing explained directly, everything laid out with poetic hints for experimentation. Poems on the walls give clues on how to engage each material and in the night, when the sun moves on to a different part of the planet, Japanese indigo leaves share another secret of phosphorescence. 

Picture a tent wrapped with naturally dyed and ecoprinted fabrics patchworked together with different zones. In each 'zone' visitors are invited to crush indigo leaves, engage in colour-changing watercolours, and explore the prints of Waking Life's most abundant plants. In the middle, a laid out collaborative fabric where these experiences can be applied collaboratively. A space where people can slow down and find safety and calmness among the flora.  

Final thoughts and Conclusion:

My role in the Tinctorium Plant Lab was simply one of maintenance. In the morning we'd open the fabric doors, inviting people to step in. At night, at closing, we cleaned droppers and refilled containers. The true magic happened during the day where people passing by were challenged to say yes to their curiosity and step in without any official orientation. Some moved on - intimidated or unsure about how to use the materials. Afraid to 'mess up'. Others embraced the unknown and discovered the secrets of natural color on their own. I'd come back at the end of the day to close down the camp and find a tent full of strangers-turned-friends with blue fingers from rubbing the fresh indigo leaves onto fabric or mesmerized by the color-changing inks. In the words of one natural color explorer who left a note in the community book - "