Workshops & Events
Get creative in Indigo in Green nature-based art workshops, playshops, and learning experiences. From weaving with botanically dyed yarn in the garden to creating sun prints from plants, our in-person workshops offer a hands-on approach to creative exploration. Often paired with nature walks and explorations of green spaces, these workshops are an invitation to uncover the wonder of the botanical world.
Botanical Ink Workshop
Mount Airy Learning Tree | The Farm at Awbury Arboretum
Feb. 8, 2025, 10 - 12:30pm
$49 + $10 materials fee
Make your own ink for drawing and fine writing from natural materials using plants growing in our green spaces and simple ingredients found in your kitchen! Bottle experiences of connection with natural places and experiment with your own plant-based ink in this workshop. You will leave this workshop with a bottle of your own handmade botanical ink; a reference zine on ink making; a collection of your own drawings and ink samples; and knowledge to create your own collection of natural inks from homegrown and foraged botanicals. All ink making tools and botanical supplies will be provided.
Sorry, this course is full. You can add yourself to the waiting list here.
Color from Nature @ Morris Arboretum
Saturday, April 12 | 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
$60 | Morris Arboretum Members: $55
Explore the Morris to identify sources of color to make botanical ink. Bottle sensory experiences and connection with nature, then experiment with shifting the color of your handcrafted ink to create a plant-based color palette for drawing, printmaking, and fine writing with dip pens and brushes.
Participants will have time to experiment with the different plants, shift pH to create new colors, and test your own inks on different kinds of paper. You will gain knowledge of colors that can be extracted from a collection of local plants, and how to make your own natural ink for drawing, writing, and botanical printmaking. You will leave with a small bottle of black walnut ink as well as a bottle of your own ink, your drawings or ink samples, and a reference zine.
We will meet at the Welcome Center before heading out to explore plants in the gardens. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. Aprons are advised.
Plant Imprints
In collaboration with People’s Kitchen Philly and Termite TV Collective, we shared plant stories and created botanical prints: sunprints using turmeric and rubbings using handcrafted color blocks made from turmeric, beeswax, and finely ground yellow rock.
Termite TV| People's Kitchen | Reinhard Street Community Farm
Cherry Street Pier & Reinhard Street Community Farm
FREE
Past Workshops
Visual Journal Workshop
Random Tea Room | 713 North 4th St, Philadelphia, PA
This workshop is a blend of visual journaling, bookbinding, and sensory exploration. Discover your seasonal theme or intention through guided practices and the reflective power of tea.
+ Make your own visual journal from ephemera and repurposed paper embellished with handcrafted botanical inks and paints.
+ Learn the basics of bookbinding and create a journal with foldouts, pockets, and secret spaces to tuck your musings, affirmations, and dreams.
+ Sample specialty craft teas, using the introspection of the first sip as inspiration for creating and journaling prompts.
+ Receive “The Collector's Book Kit“ which includes vintage paper dyed with natural materials, photo corners, naturally dyed yarn to embellish pages and bind books within your journal--as well as a bonus list of thoughtful prompts to guide use of your journal beyond the workshop.
Saturday, November 9, 2024
Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers
Members $65, Non Members $95
Natural Dye, Ink, & Paint on Paper
An afternoon of creative play and exploration with small-batch, natural, handcrafted supplies from the Indigo in Green Studio Apothecary. Experiment with natural dyes for paper, botanical inks, earth pigment crayons, and handmade watercolors. Each material holds stories of connection with place, plants, and communities of Philly. Everyone will create a collection of works on paper using materials that are rooted in nature and made by hand.
Autumn Ink @ Morris Arboretum
Saturday, October 19
Morris Arboretum and Garden
Explore the Morris and identify sources of color that can be used to make botanical inks from petals, leaves, drupes, and roots of the autumn season! After a plant walk, we will get to work making our own ink for drawing and fine writing, made from natural materials foraged in fall. Bottle sensory experiences and connection with nature together, then experiment with shifting the color of our own handcrafted ink to create a plant-based color palette for drawing, printmaking, and fine writing with dip pens and brushes.
You will leave with a small bottle of black walnut ink as well as a bottle of your own ink, your drawings or ink samples created in class, and a reference zine. Meet at the Welcome Center before heading out to explore the Wetland.
Botanical Ink Workshop
Mount Airy Learning Tree
Wyck Historic House and Garden
Make your own ink for drawing and fine writing from natural materials using flowers and plants growing in our green spaces and simple ingredients found in your kitchen! Bottle experiences of connection with natural places and experiment with your own plant-based ink in this workshop.