In this three-part lecture series, learn to plant, grow, harvest, and store native plants for dyeing.
Course Description
Design your very own dye garden, sowing the seeds for a diverse palette of color. Over the course of three weeks, textile artist Aaron Sanders Head will walk us through the process of planning, planting, and maintaining the garden, as well as mechanisms for harvesting and storing dye materials you can use in your craft. We'll begin by discussing options for long-lasting, homegrown color, and we'll create a gardening schedule. Then, we'll cover how to start seeds indoors—eventually transplanting them to an outdoor space. While we'll focus on several typical plants used for natural dyeing (such as indigo, marigolds, and cosmos), the skills you'll learn can be applied to a number of plants. We'll end the course with a showcase from Aaron which will demonstrate how to begin using these plants to create color.
Syllabus at a Glance
This course includes three total sessions included in this purchase, each lasting for 1.5 hours on three consecutive Tuesdays beginning April 30.
Session 1 (Tuesday, 4/30, 7:30–9 PM ET): Planning your garden
Session 2 (Tuesday, 5/7, 7:30–9 PM ET): Starting your seeds
Session 3 (Tuesday, 5/14, 7:30–9 PM ET): Gardening & harvesting
Between Sessions
While there won't be homework in a traditional sense, participants will need to spend some time researching their zone, seeking out seeds and materials, planting seeds, and maintaining their gardens. If starting a garden in real-time with the course, you should expect to spend around 1.5 hours each week outside of class, depending on how expansive your plans are.
Pricing Options
This course is available at three ticket prices. This tiered pricing model is designed to increase access for a wider range of students as well as to support our instructors. In addition to tiered tickets, we offer a limited number of no-pay spots for students who would not otherwise be able to take this course. No-pay spots are selected via a randomized drawing two weeks before each section begins. For more information and to apply for a no-pay spot, please click here. To learn more about our pricing model and randomized selection process for no-pay spots, please visit our FAQ page.
Community Guidelines for Students
Please take a moment to review our community guidelines for students, which aim to share our classroom ethos and help set the stage for the best possible learning experience.
Atlas Obscura Online Courses
Atlas Obscura Courses offer opportunities for participants to emerge with new skills, knowledge, connections, and perspectives through multi-session classes designed and taught by expert instructors. To learn more about our current course offerings, please visit www.atlasobscura.com/online-courses. For answers to commonly asked questions, check out our FAQ page here.
Founded in 2009, Atlas Obscura created the definitive community-driven guide to incredible places across the planet and is now an award-winning company that shares the world’s hidden wonders in person and online.
Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Eventbrite that will provide access to each class meeting. Please save the confirmation email as you’ll use it to access all sessions of your course via Zoom.
Aaron Sanders Head is a Southern textile artist focused on natural dyes and hand-stitching. Aaron explores the intersections of practices of the past with contemporary craft, and the ways that sewing and textile arts can aid in increasing diversity and representation in the creative class. He is based in Greensboro, Alabama where he lives in an 1830s home with his partner, musician Tim Higgins, and two cats, Splenda and Turnip. He maintains an active studio practice and extensive dye garden used in his work.
This lecture series is designed so students can participate live or watch a recording of each session, after it airs, at a time that is convenient for them. Sessions will take place live over Zoom, with dedicated Q&A segments for students to ask questions via video or chat. Within 72 hours after each session meets, students will receive access to a recording of the live session, which they can watch for up to two weeks after the course concludes.
Instructors may use Google Classroom to communicate with students outside of class. While students aren’t required to use Google Classroom, instructors may use this platform to post resources, discussion questions, or assignments. This platform also offers a space for students to connect with one another about course material between sessions.
We provide closed captioning for all of our courses and can share transcripts upon request. Please reach out to us at experiences@atlasobscura.com if you have any questions, requests, or accessibility needs.
