Upcoming Learning Opportunities

IN-STUDIO

From Plant to Pigment: Introduction to Lake Pigments

Catskill Weaving School
Kingston, New York
October 18, 2026

For those of us seeking sustainability and ecological connection in our creative practices, the chemically pure colors of today’s art suppliers are very far removed from nature. Join Natalie Stopka, author of From Plant to Pigment, for an introduction to lake pigments. This process of transmuting fragile botanical dyes to durable pigments extends the artistic applications of dye colors into expanded media including paint, ink, and pastel. Inspired by the history and craft of color-making, Natalie will share her master recipe for creating handmade, homegrown, and local pigments. Participants will leave with three different pigment colors, an overview of paint-making, and the knowledge to continue exploring lake pigments in their own studios.

Natalie’s studio recipe book From Plant to Pigment: How to make your own vibrant inks, pastels and paints is available now! Participants may wish to purchase a copy at our workshop, or bring a copy to be signed by the author.

FULLY BOOKED

ONLINE

Plant Potential

For Dye and Pigment
1:00 - 3:00pm EST
Sunday, November 15
& Sunday, December 6

The rainbow of colors produced by plants is myriad and alluring. How can artists working with plant dyes and lake pigments classify these colors, conceptualize their chemistry, and anticipate their behavior in the studio? Understanding the potential of color constituents allows artists to choose application-appropriate plants based on a personal rubric of priorities. In two online sessions, Natalie shares six characteristics important to the behavior of plant color, and aligns those characteristics with colorants’ chemical families. Uncover the relationships between plant colors, solvents, mordants, substrates, pH, and light. Learn DIY chromatography to plumb the depths of familiar and strange plants, and imagine new expressive potentialities of plant color!

Register here

ONLINE

Plants for Artists

Natural Materials in Practice
A yearlong learning community from Plants & Colour

Join a community of artists and practitioners exploring plants for paints, inks, dyes, pigments, and other uses. 12 Monthly Online Meet-ups share ideas, explorations, and questions. Each session opens with a guest artist diving in to a plant they work with, followed by group sharing and discussion facilitated by Natalie Stopka and Issy Denton. Sessions begin in January 2027.

Welcoming members at all stages of experience from experienced makers to those starting their learning journey.

Register here

ONLINE

Minerals for Artists

Natural Materials in Practice
A yearlong learning community from Plants & Colour

Join a community of artists and practitioners exploring naturally available minerals for paints, pastels, pigments, and beyond. 12 Monthly Online Meet-ups share ideas, explorations, and questions. Each session opens with a guest artist deep diving into their practice with minerals, followed by group sharing and discussion facilitated by Lucy Mayes. Sessions begin in January, 2027.

Welcoming members at all stages of experience from experienced makers to those starting their learning journey.

Register here

ONLINE

Plant Potential

For Dye and Pigment
1:00 - 3:00pm EST
Sunday, February 7 & 21, 2027

The rainbow of colors produced by plants is myriad and alluring. How can artists working with plant dyes and lake pigments classify these colors, conceptualize their chemistry, and anticipate their behavior in the studio? Understanding the potential of color constituents allows artists to choose application-appropriate plants based on a personal rubric of priorities. In two online sessions, Natalie shares six characteristics important to the behavior of plant color, and aligns those characteristics with colorants’ chemical families. Uncover the relationships between plant colors, solvents, mordants, substrates, pH, and light. Learn DIY chromatography to plumb the depths of familiar and strange plants, and imagine new expressive potentialities of plant color!

Register Here

ONLINE

Making Natural Paints & Inks

an in-depth online course with Plants & Colour
March - June, 2027

Using botanical and earth pigments with natural binders, this series of online demonstrations shares how to make natural paints and inks for paper, canvas, wood panels, leather, plaster, and other surfaces. Weekly talks and demonstrations are presented by Natalie Stopka, Caroline Ross, Greta Facchinato, Carolyn Sweeney, Lucy Mayes, Caroline Nicolay & Elise Wagner. Topics include Dye Based Inks, Refillable Markers, Watercolour, Egg Paints, Oil Paint, Casein Paint, Encaustic Paint, and more.

A closing session September 7th invites participants to share their reflections & outcomes. Recordings available until June, 2028.

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