Workshops

Spend time with us indigo dyeing during this unique and fun event. Learn easy shibori techniques and dye beautiful pieces in indigo to take home and show friends and family. Bring your own natural fiber tee shirts or small item, like washcloths or a tired pair of linen pants you'd like to update. All events take place at the Manitou Art Center. This workshop is good for people of all ages, school art enrichment programs and corporate events.

Learn how flowers and plants can dye fabric. Dye one 100% cotton napkin to take home to show friends and family. Learn easy shibori techniques to create patterns on the surface of the napkin. This workshop is excellent for school art enrichment programs and can be brought to your classroom. Good for grades 3 and up.

Enjoy exploring easy step by step drawing techniques with this collective exercise meant to stimulate the creative voice in everyone. Participants are given their own 6” x 6” piece of paper with or without pre-drawn lines that they are free to paint, color, mark, or collage. Once everyone finishes their paper square, we assemble all the pieces to reveal the overall drawing. The workshop encourages creativity and finding one’s own voice as well as collaborative thinking. This workshop is great for creative corporate events and retreats as well as school art enrichment programs.

We begin by imagining the possibilities for what we desire more and less of in our lives. Participants will write or draw lists onto fabric and then will learn several embroidery stitches while we practice mindfulness and manifest good things for our futures. Once the embroidery is done, we will photograph them and create a collective digital zine and provide finishing and framing examples. This workshop helps develop imaginative and open mindset thinking and can be adapted for grade 6 through adults. Project inspired by Julia Rothman and Shannon Downey.

Collaborating with AI to design entertaining creature mashups that we will use as inspiration for making soft stuffed animals. We will practice 2D to 3D patternmaking and hand sewing basics (and machine sewing if available) will be introduced. Basic templates provided or participants can design their own. Workshop may also be adapted to other materials (paper, cardboard, tape, glue, markers, and paint, for instance). This is great fun for all ages! May also be combined with an indigo dyeing workshop to make fabric to use for the creatures as a multi-day workshop.

The FrankenCollage workshop introduces ways to playfully change found images into hybrid forms using photo collage. Fun for all ages. For shorter 1 hour workshops, sample images can be provided. For 2-hour workshops, participants may forage through our magazine collection and find their own. If a photocopier is available, making multiples of chosen images provides opportunities to repeat parts or share with each other. For a 3-hour or 2 session workshop, FrankenSculptures may be added for a 3D adventure interpreting their collages into sculptures using easily found materials. Great for Grade 4 up to adults. The workshop encourages creativity and finding one’s own voice as well as collaborative thinking. This workshop is great for creative corporate events and retreats as well as school art enrichment programs.

This workshop aims to provide participants with a foundational understanding of film photography development, equipping them with practical skills and inspiring them to explore the creative possibilities of analog photography. 2 hours $45 per person

The goal of such a workshop is to empower participants to use photography as a means of powerful storytelling, enriching their understanding of photography beyond technical aspects and encouraging them to engage more deeply with the narratives around them. 2 hours $45 per person

Benefits of this workshop include developing a deeper connection to the environment, enhancing creativity, and fostering a more mindful approach to photography and life in general. It's an opportunity to slow down, observe, and appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of everyday moments. 3 hour workshop $65 per person