Workshop + Cabin 10: Sheep to Spindle: Wool Processing + Natural Dyes

This package includes a 4-night stay in cabin #10, registration for Sheep to Spindle: Wool Processing + Natural Dyes and a group dinner as listed in the workshop description below.

Choose “single” for one workshop registration and single cabin occupancy for ONE BEDROOM.

Choose “double” for two workshop registrations and double cabin occupancy for ONE BEDROOM.

* The listed price includes the single/double use of ONE BEDROOM. If would like to use the second bedroom there is an additional $30 per night charge. Email info@playasummerlake.org to request the second bedroom and any additional guests beyond two.

This two-bedroom cabin is part of the northern trio of cabins that faces the pond. Each bedroom has a queen bed, on-suite bathroom with shower, a full kitchen with dining table and chairs. Includes a large writing/work desk in each bedroom. View the wild life on the pond from both the upstairs and downstairs decks.

This package includes a reserved camping spot for 4 nights in the PLAYA garden, registration for Sheep to Spindle: Wool Processing + Natural Dyes, and two group dinners as listed in the workshop description below. Price listed is per camper plus registration for the workshop regardless of individual or shared tent. Two maximum campers for this workshop. TENT camping only.

The garden campsites are only steps away from the Garden House and the main Commons lodge. You will have full access to the large kitchen, dining area, living room and bathroom with the other campers and single room renters of the Garden House. This low-cost option creates more affordability for folks on a budget. We have 2 spots available in the garden.  No pets or outdoor campfires allowed.

SHEEP TO SPINDLE: WOOL PROCESSING + NATURAL DYES

Instructor: Ivy Guild

Dates: May 23-May 27, 2024

Arrival: May 23, 2024

Departure: May 27, 2024

Skill Level: All experience levels welcome, a patient attitude is encouraged

Mobility Level: Easy. There will be guided trips to local areas to collect natural materials and an opportunity to determine where and how far you go based on your own mobility level and comfort.    

Workshop Description:

During this 4-night workshop in the Great Basin, participants will learn how to process raw wool from local 4 H Organization sheep and create natural dyes from the high desert landscape. We will begin the workshop by washing and learning how to hand-card fleece from local youth farmers. Next, we will do our own research on the natural dyes that can be harvested from invasive and native plants foraged around PLAYA. This workshop will teach the basics of: washing, carding, spinning, mordanting, and dyeing raw wool, ethics of foraging, natural dyeing of plant and animal-based fibers. No experience is required but patience is highly recommended. Come prepared to slow down in the outback and practice meditative processes & mindfulness.

Bio: Ivy Guild is a Reno-based, interdisciplinary artist and educator invested in researching a post-Anthropocene world in order to illustrate speculative environments left behind after the 6th Great Extinction. Inorganic interactions between manmade and biological materials recur in fictional vignettes in her work. Guild pivots away from considerations of the survival of the planet and instead examines the following questions: will human beings survive? And: how many species will we take with us on our jolly ride into the grave of extinction? Guild uses her sculptural installations to process the physical traumas and alterations her body has sustained. She confronts the unnatural fusion of the body with manufactured hardware and power tools that she has lived with throughout the creation of her practice. Guild received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Visual Arts and Art History from the University of San Diego and her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine. In 2021, Guild received the Featured Art Prize in the Future Art Awards: Ecosystem X from Mozaik Philanthropy. Guild has been an artist-in-residence at PLAYA, Lighthouse Works, Vermont Studio Center, and ACRE. Guild has shown with Purdue University Galleries, ACRE, 1805 Gallery, CSU Long Beach, Wow Project LA, the Museum of Fine Arts at Florida State University, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, the William D. Cannon Art Gallery, San Diego Art Institute, and Sebastopol Center for the Arts among others. Her work is housed in Special Collections at Smith College and San Diego State University, as well as in private collections. https://www.ivyguildart.com/

Agenda:

Day 1- Thur., May 23: 2:00-5:00 pm Arrival | Evening on your own

Day 2- Fri., May 24: History of wool processing + washing raw wool | Afternoon: Intro to carding, and spinning wool | Group Dinner Provided by PLAYA

Day 3- Sat., May 25: Morning: group forage for natural dyes on PLAYA campus, option to take observational sketches of foraged materials | Afternoon: Test foraged group dyes & process wool

Day 4- Sun., May 26: Morning: Introduction to tufting | Early afternoon: learn about food-based natural dyes or independent studio time | Late afternoon: dry and heat-set wool tests

Day 5- Mon. May 27: Participants depart by noon

Equipment to bring:

Required:

• Rubber gloves
• Hand-carders
• Drop spindle
• Sharp scissors
• Dye pots & tools (best sourced from thrift stores)
• Small pot with lid
• Large pot with lid, Hot plate
• Set of tongs
• Reusable cups/bowls (plastic is fine)
• Closed-toed shoes
• Garden clippers
• Reusable bags for foraged materials

Optional:
Pre-dyed wool rovings

• Miscellaneous yarn
• Tufting needle + frame
• Tufting machine
• Artificial dyes
• Fabric, pre-spun yarn, clothing etc for dyeing (100% natural or animal fibers only)
• Rigid heddle or wall loom

Suggested:

• Bug repellant
• Sketchbook or notebook
• Sketching materials
• Hiking poles
• Sun protection

Provided:

• Raw wool
• Cotton squares for dye tests
• Soap for washing wool
• Walking stick
• Alum, copper, and iron mordant materials
• Kitchen scale for measuring mordant chemicals
• Iron and ironing board
• Shared tufting frame, needle, and frame machine
• Shared wall loom
• Wood, nails, and hammers to build wall looms
• Gauze for cobweb felting

*No pets allowed. Thank you.