Eco Dye and Collage: Exploring Natural Patterns and Colors with Sarah Rehmer

Concept

This immersive three-day workshop blends the natural beauty of eco-dyeing with the expressive qualities of collage. Participants will explore how plant materials - and their natural pigments - can be transferred onto paper to create organic patterns and unique color palettes. Once these eco-dyed surfaces are created, they become the foundation for a layered collage practice. Learn how to combined dyed papers with additional materials, such as found images, textured papers, and drawn or painted marks, to develop compositions. This workshop emphasizes sustainability, creative experimentation, and storytelling through material.

Experience

Begin by gathering and preparing botanical materials, then learn techniques for eco-dyeing papers, making color alterations, and secondary printing with rust to generate a collection of richly patterned surfaces. Experiment with bundling, steaming, and layering to see how different plants and mordants shift the results. Next, move into the collage process; cutting, arranging, and layering to create artworks that combine the organic unpredictability of nature with your own artistic voice. Guided by demonstrations and one-on-one feedback, complete several small studies and at least one finished collage. All eco-dye and rust printing supplies, as well as some basic tools are provided, but you are encouraged to bring a variety of found papers and other materials/small objects to use.

Skill Level

No prior experience required, but general art-making experience is helpful.

Instructor

After working in encaustic for over twenty years, Sarah Rehmer is still hungry to find new ways to push and manipulate the material. She encourages her students to learn and make work with an equally open and curious mind. With Sarah as your instructor, you can expect to learn hands-on and try everything at least twice. When not in the studio, she is usually out hiking the trails of a state park. Sarah earned her BA in Graphic Design and Photography from Dominican University and teaches workshops around the country.