Maiwa teaches at the Penland School of Crafts

by - Tuesday, July 03, 2012


Maiwa founder Charllotte Kwon took an expanded version of her natural dye class to the Penland School of Crafts this summer. Accompanied by daughter, assistant, and fellow-teacher Sophena Kwon, the two led an intense two-week study of natural colourants on a variety of fibres.

The class was featured on the Penland Sketchbook twice: Dyed and gone to heaven and It's a Family Act! For those who may not know Penland, it has been a remarkable beacon for craft and artisans for over eighty years. Charllotte has long dreamed of teaching there. Then, one exciting day in 2011, the call came asking if she would consider being part of the summer 2012 session ...

Here are some of our photos.


Set up.  You think natural dyes require special knowledge? 
Try doing the paperwork to cross the boarder!



Ready for the students. We brought garments, shawls, scarves, samples, and our 
photobooks to show what has been done by some of the best craftspeople in the world.


The start of the first day and everything is looking very white.

Scoured and mordanted, ready for some colour ...

... some colour!

Yarns, swatches, and samples.

Everything labeled and organized.

Charllotte Kwon and Joy Boutrup consider the mole as a unit of measure 
for amounts of reactants and products in dye chemistry.

Sophena prepares some over-ripe bananas for the organic indigo vat.

Teaching the use of natural dyes for printing and mark-making.

Natural dyes on the railing.

The class takes advantage of some of Penland's natural beauty for a backdrop.







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