Workshop Date: Sunday, June 14, 2026
10am to noon, Pacific Standard Time, online

a recording will be made available of this class to all who register, available to view through the end of summer

About the Workshop

Up until very recently, all artists' colors derived from natural materials -from plants, soil, stone, insects and animals. A rich history flourished around the globe for millenia, with crossover in the sources of dyes for textiles and pigments used by artists and craftspeople alike.

Today, the majority of the chromas used for clothing and paint are synthetic, made from fossil fuels. But a steady group of people are returning to the knowledge of natural color, with a renaissance of new scholarship to draw from. This effort is linked to environmentalism and also offers a path into a deeper connection to the land of which we are a part and the underlying components that make up our world. 

This short informative workshop offers an overview of traditional methods of working with natural color, covering:

• a brief history of pigments and how humans have used them across time

• the most successful sources for color, how to find materials and make the most steadfast botanical inks and pigments for watercolor, gouache, oils, or pastels -including the more involved process of lake pigments

• a demo of processes to try at home

Alongside a slideshow with vivid visual examples, a pdf will be shared with all participants with plentiful resources for continued learning, including a list of book recommendations, the best sites for ongoing education and a handful of recipes to experiment with.

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Lena Wolff has taught color studies at the Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown), Pixar Animation Studios, Kala Art Institute, Case for Making, and independently in her studio in Berkeley, California for over a decade.