Natural Dye & Organic Watercolor Workshop
One-Day Intensive with Zapotec Textile Artist Anais Adelina Ruiz ARTime BARRO — Santa Monica, California
Rediscover the heritage of natural color through a one-day, hands-on workshop rooted in tradition, material, and process.
Join us at ARTime BARRO Santa Monica for an immersive natural dye experience focused on merino wool dyeing and the creation of handmade organic watercolors. Led by Zapotec weaver and natural dye artisan Anais Adelina Ruiz, this workshop offers a rare opportunity to learn directly from a practicing artisan whose work is grounded in generations of knowledge from Oaxaca, Mexico.
This is a condensed, high-impact experience designed to introduce you to the full natural dye process in a single day—without sacrificing depth, intention, or cultural context.
About the Workshop
This Natural Dye & Organic Watercolor Workshop is a 7-hour, hands-on intensive designed for artists, designers, educators, and curious beginners interested in sustainable textile practices and traditional dyeing techniques.
Participants will work directly with plant-based, mineral, and insect-derived dyes, learning how raw materials transform into rich, living color.
Each stage of the process—preparation, mordanting, dyeing, and finishing—is demonstrated and practiced, giving participants a complete and foundational understanding of natural dye techniques in an accessible format.
Rooted in Zapotec textile traditions from Oaxaca, Mexico, this workshop emphasizes slow-making, material awareness, and the beauty of variation found in naturally dyed fiber.
What to Expect: A One-Day Natural Dye Experience
This workshop is designed to be immersive, supportive, and beginner-friendly.
Over the course of one day, participants will be guided step-by-step through the essential stages of natural dyeing while working hands-on with merino wool and organic pigments.
During this workshop, you will:
Learn how natural dyes are sourced from plants, insects, and minerals
Prepare and mordant merino wool to properly absorb color
Observe how fiber, water, and heat interact during the dyeing process
Dye wool using traditional Zapotec techniques, creating layered and nuanced tones
Understand why natural dyes vary and how to work with those variations
Create handmade organic watercolor pigments from natural materials
Learn how to apply these techniques to future textile or art projects
Instruction is hands-on and process-focused. Anais demonstrates each step before guiding participants through their own work, allowing time for experimentation, observation, and questions.
What You’ll Leave With
By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with:
Naturally dyed merino wool samples
Handmade organic watercolor pigments
A foundational understanding of natural dye processes
Practical skills you can apply to future creative projects
A deeper appreciation for slow craft and cultural heritage
This workshop emphasizes learning through doing—not perfection. Each result will be unique.
Why This Workshop Is Different
This is not a synthetic dye class or a casual craft activity.
This experience is rooted in living Zapotec textile traditions, taught by an artisan who actively practices these methods in her work in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Participants learn not only how to dye, but why these techniques matter—culturally, environmentally, and artistically.
The focus is on:
Sustainability over speed
Process over mass production
Cultural respect over trend-based making
Workshop Objective: Natural Color as Cultural Heritage
The goal of this workshop is to reconnect participants with the origins of color—from land to fiber—while honoring the cultural knowledge behind natural dyeing practices.
Participants will:
Practice traditional Zapotec dyeing methods
Dye merino wool using plant, mineral, and insect pigments
Understand how environment and materials influence color outcomes
Create handmade organic watercolors
Explore texture, irregularity, and variation as essential qualities of natural dye
Apply sustainable, slow-making techniques to their own work
Natural Materials Explored
Participants will work with traditional dye materials, including:
Merino Wool (Lana Merino)
Alum (Alumbre)
Indigo
Cochineal
Each material is explored for its preparation, dye behavior, and cultural significance.
Meet the Instructor
Anais Adelina Ruiz
Anais Adelina Ruiz is a Zapotec weaver and natural dye instructor with over 10 years of experience creating handwoven wool textiles (tapetes) using ancestral techniques from Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Her work is deeply connected to landscape—often dyed outdoors using natural materials gathered from the environment. The resulting textiles reflect subtle variations in tone, texture, and movement.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries and showrooms throughout Mexico and internationally, including the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
Who This Workshop Is For
This workshop is ideal for:
Textile and fiber artists
Designers and interior creatives
Painters interested in organic watercolor
Educators and cultural practitioners
Beginners curious about natural dyes and sustainable practices
No prior experience is required.
Workshop Details & Pricing
One-Day Natural Dye Intensive
Price:
$290
Total Duration:
7 hours
Date:
May 9, 2026
Schedule:
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
(Includes a 1-hour break)
Location:
ARTime BARRO
Santa Monica, California
Materials:
All materials included
Experience Level:
Beginner-friendly — no prior dyeing experience required
Reserve Your Spot
Space is limited to maintain an intimate, hands-on experience.
Join us at ARTime BARRO Santa Monica for a rare opportunity to learn natural dyeing directly from a Zapotec artisan and experience color as something grown, gathered, and remembered.