Registration Opens June 22 at 10am.

2015 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Mushrooms - Colours from the Forest

Ann Harmer

$250 includes 50 lab fee

November 2, 3,   - Class Limit 12

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Dyeing with mushrooms is a relatively new technique in the world of natural dyes. While only a small proportion of wild mushrooms yield usable pigments, those that do provide a lovely rainbow of warm, earthy colours. 

The workshop will begin with a general discussion about mushrooms, including safety and environmental concerns. Ann will introduce the most common colour-producing mushrooms and will describe how to identify them in their preferred habitat. 

Students will then prepare the mushrooms for dyeing and learn the different methods used to successfully extract their pigments.

At the end of the first day, the class will have results direct from the dyepots. On day two we will complete the dyeing, obtaining more colours with the use of mordant afterbaths and pH adjustments. Students will leave the class with samples of every colour obtained during the workshop, along with a silk scarf dyed with Phaeolus schweinitzii, or Dyer’s Polypore, a mushroom that is most generous with its pigment.

Ann’s combined interest in mushrooms and fibre arts has led her to investigate the colour potential of these spore-bearing, fruiting bodies. She will share the results of her own dyeing practice and direct students to the growing community of fungi and fibre enthusiasts.

Ann joins us from BC’s Sunshine Coast.

Instructor Bio

Ann Harmer Ann Harmer has always been intrigued by mushrooms. When she decided to move to BC’s Sunshine Coast, she knew it was time to learn more about the fungi that grew in such abundance at her doorstep. At the same time, she developed an interest in fibre arts. 

When she heard about a Fungi & Fibre Symposium taking place in California in 2008, there was no question—she had to go. So began her ongoing passion for dyeing fibre with mushrooms. Ann has since attended each biennial symposium. The 17th International Fungi & Fibre Symposium will be held on the Sunshine Coast in 2016.

Ann writes about her dyeing experiences on her blog at shroomworks.wordpress.com.