**Please note that your ticket will only reflect the starting date of your course, but you are enrolling in a multi-session course held over the span of a weekend. The details and dates are listed below**

Join us for this in-person workshop to learn about rust, an eco-friendly, cost-free, and easy medium for dyeing fabric, leather, or paper. Any found object made of iron or steel can corrode to produce iron oxide, which results in interesting, often unexpected imprints. Colors can range from taupes to oranges and browns or transform already colored fabric into other hues. 

In the first half-day session, we will repurpose used cloth (cotton and linen are best, silk and wool are not) by putting it through the rust process and leaving it overnight. In the second half-day session, we will unwrap and rinse the dyed cloths. Then we will examine the shapes and colors that were produced and determine what kind of stitching will best enhance them. 

Our creations can be framed, adhered to stiff interfacing, added to quilts, combined with other artworks, or integrated into clothing.

DATES

• April Session: Saturday, April 12th, and Sunday, April 13th from 10:00am to 1:00pm

MATERIALS

Many materials will be provided for you but we ask that you bring the following to your workshop:

• Cotton or linen cloth you no longer use: e.g., pillow case, sheet, clothing, dish towel, or scraps of fabric—preferably white, cream, beige, and without designs. You can also try colored fabrics. Consider taking out the seams to have thinner, flatter fabric to work with or leave as is. You can cut up an old sheet into smaller pieces. Wash all the cloth you’ll bring, but don’t bother getting stains out, for they’ll simply become another color with the rust.

• Metal objects that are already rusted. If you don’t have any, put nails, screws, washers, wire, screening, steel wool, or any other metal pieces outside to rust naturally or spray them with vinegar to speed up the process. On your walks, notice rusted things lying around that you can pick up and use. Or go to a junkyard to look for unique objects.

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Get to know your instructor:

Art offers us moments of now, in which we let go of the past and the future, let go of the constant stream of data rushing through us. It offers an opportunity to pause and be still, leaving behind, even if only briefly, the tumult and busyness of everyday life. Whether we're viewing or creating, art has the power to provide not only an experience of aesthetic pleasure, but also a refuge where it's possible to be fully present and know the timelessness of serenity. A moment of inner quiet in the middle of things can shift our consciousness and body chemistry and alter the tone of our day…Learn more about Mirka here.

Are you a San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles Member? Use code: MEMBER10 for 10% off all workshop registration fees.