The Nature's Colours Weekend

A 2-day residential workshop on natural dyes and batik with Threads of Life - limited to 6 people.

Arrive: evening of Friday 13 October 2017.

Depart: evening of Sunday 15 October or morning of Monday 16 October 2017 

For four millennia the textile arts of Indonesia have articulated an intimate and harmonious relationship with the earth. Through the plant-sourced dyes and the symbolic potency of the colours created, the archipelago’s indigenous peoples have literally wrapped themselves in their stories of this relationship. After fifteen years of field research and studio practice, the Threads of Life’s staff dyers are offering a 2-day wekend workshop exploring the making, meaning and application of these colours through the practice of batik. Hosted at the Threads of Life Natural Dye Studio on the grounds of the Umajati Retreat in Ubud, Bali, the program includes twin-share residential accommodations.

The workshop will be held at the Threads of Life Dye Studio and Bebali Dye Garden at the Umajati Retreat

This workshop offers 2 days of studio time, exploring the traditional art of batik and the indigenous dyes of the Indonesian archipelago. Designed as both an introduction for beginners or an extended practice for established practitioners, the workshop will build towards a personal creative batik and natural dye project on the second day. It will start with a day of hands-on work creating shades of colour with indigenous natural dyes harvested from the dye garden and developing batik skills through a series of simple exercises using canting (wax pen), cap (stamp) and brush; this will establish the foundation for the second day of personal creative exploration.

Participants will:

• learn batik using canting (wax pen), cap (stamp), and brush with natural dyes

• dye their batik using Indonesia’s traditional natural dyes, principally blue from Indigofera tinctoria, brown from Ceriops tagal

• create a personal cotton scarf batik project (materials provided)

   

Jean, William, Komang, Wayan, and Made are the workshop leaders

Workshop Leaders

The workshop is hosted by Threads of Life founders, Jean Howe and William Ingram. Threads of Life’s staff dyers Komang Sujata, Wayan Sukadana and Made Maduarta, bring a combined 35 years of experience to the teaching of this workshop. Focusing on traditions that have degraded and are being recovered, they document local dye recipes and processes in the field, and test them in the studio before taking suggested refinements back to the communities. In the dye garden, they establish cultivation and harvesting methods to address plant resource scarcity being faced by traditional dyers. In the studio, they lead half-day up to weeklong workshops, both for indigenous weavers and international students. Their approach to natural dyeing seeks plant-sourced dyes by plant-sourced processes and avoids synthetic additives or mordants. 

Residential accommodations at the Umajati Retreat 

Workshop Schedule

Friday 13 October 2017

14:00 – 19:00    Arrival at Umajati

19.00 – 19:30    Group introduction and program overview

19:30 – 20:30    Group Dinner at Umajati

Saturday 14 October

08.00 – 09.00    Breakfast

09.00 – 13.00    Workshop

13.00 – 14.00    Lunch

14.00 – 17.00    Workshop

19.00 – 21.00    Group Dinner at Umajati

Sunday 15 October

08.00 – 09.30    Breakfast

10.00 – 13.00    Workshop

13.00 – 14.00    Lunch

14.00 – 17.00    Workshop

17.00 - 18.00    Early check-out and departure

OR

18.30 – 19.00    Optional shuttle to Ubud

19.00 – 21.00    Free for dinner at Umajati or in Ubud

21.00 – 21.30    Optional shuttle to Umajati

Monday 16 October

06.00 – 09.00    Breakfast

06.00 – 12.00    Check-out and departure 

Price, Payment, Cancellation and Refund Policy, Group Size

Included:

2 days of workshop program; 2 lunches, 2 dinners. 3 nights of twin-share accommodations, 3 breakfasts.

Payment 

Payment will be made through PayPal via an automatic link in the booking website. You do not need to have a PayPal account to make a payment; PayPal will simply be used to process your credit card payment.

Cancellation and Refunds

Cancellation requests must be made by email to tours@threadsoflife.com. The date of cancellation is the date on which the written cancellation is received in Bali. No refund will be made for failure to attend or if you voluntarily leave the workshop for any reason after it has begun. No refunds will be given for any accommodation, transport, workshops, meals or services not used during the workshop. Cancellation may be made at any time and refunds will be reversed directly from PayPal to your PayPal account or credit card with the following conditions:

• A 100% refund will be made within 7 days of booking to allow participants to arrange air tickets and time off from work. 

• From 8 days after booking, and if there are still more than 91 days until the workshop, a 90% refund will be made for cancellation.

• From 90 days before the workshop up to 31 days before the workshop, a 50% refund will be made.

• Within 30 days of the workshop, no refund will be made.

Group Size 
Maximum group size is 6 participants. Minimum group size for the published itinerary is 3 participant. If the group does not reach the minimum participation, Threads of Life reserves the right to cancel the event, under which circumstances a full refund will be made.