Workshops on offer

Lucy offers a selection of workshops based on the skills she has learnt; as artist, pigment and ink maker, through her own research and previous qualifications and experience. (see ABOUT section> Lucy Mayes C.V). Workshops take place in her studio in East London or can be designed to work within a setting of your choosing. Please contact her though the form on this page for enquiries or book a workshop through the website. 

London Pigment Introduction Workshop

Making sustainable pigments, inks and paint 

- Introduction to Lucy's work as artist-pigment maker
- Explanation of waste stream pigments and where to find them. 
- Introduction to colourants- pigments, dyes and making paint
- Paint making workshop (watercolour or oil paint etc) & filling out especially designed colour charts
- Paint made in the session will be available to take away

Lake Making Workshop 

Harnessing colour from plants

- Short introduction to Lucy's work as artist-pigment maker 
- Introduction to colourants- pigments, dyes and making paint
- Basic chemistry behind the laking process
- Practical pigment making demonstration, paint testing & filling out especially designed colour charts. The choice of plant material will be offered prior to workshop and will include but not restricted to the following:
weld, ragwort, Canadian goldenrod, safflower, madder, marigold, etc.
- Pigment made in the session will be available to take away

Botanical Ink Workshop

Using locally collected materials

- Short introduction to her work as artist-pigment maker 
- Introduction to colourants- pigments, dyes and making paint
- Run through of raw materials used for botanical ink making & how to extract dye
- Ink making processes that include the following materials; oak galls, brazilwood, madder, walnuts, earth pigments and verdigris
- Practical ink making demonstration, ink testing & filling out especially designed colour charts
- Ink made in the session will be able to be available to take away

Earth Colours of Britain

Mapping spaces with colour

- Short introduction to her work as artist-pigment maker

- In dept look at the earth colours I have collected, their provenance, characteristics and geological make-up.

- Explanation of how Lucy processes earth colours

- Paint making workshop (watercolour or oil paint etc) using some of the pigments mentioned & filling out especially designed colour charts

- A selection of earth pigments will be available to take away

Intermediate Pigment & Paint Making Workshop

Deep-dive into the properties of pigments & paints

- Short introduction to her work as artist-pigment maker 
- In depth look at the properties of different pigments (concentrating on pigments I make: local/nationally collected iron oxide pigments, verdigris, lake pigments, carbon black pigments, waste stream pigments), binders & fillers and how they affect the resulting paint handling and dried paint film
- Practical pigment making demonstration, paint testing & filling out especially designed colour charts

Verdigris Workshop

Deep-dive into copper pigments

- Short introduction to her work as artist-pigment maker
- In depth look at the verdigris or copper-based pigments Lucy has made, including their provenance, characteristics and recipe ideas
- Paint making workshop (watercolour or oil paint etc) using some of the pigments mentioned & filling out especially designed colour charts
- a selection of verdigris pigments will be available to take away

Natural Dye Workshop

Experiments with decoctions made from plants

- Short introduction to her work as artist-pigment maker 

- Explanation and practical workshop using iron, oak galls and walnuts to dye paper and textiles.

- a selection of dyed material and inks made from raw materials used in this workshop will be available to take away

 

Create Your Own Colour Palette

Bring your own raw materials to process into colour!

In this workshop we will process the materials you bring from the locations of your choice. Using processes such as mechanical grinding and sieving, or ph modified dye baths we shall process your organic of inorganic materials into usable pigment, dyes, inks and paints. Please see below the list of suggested materials to bring. 

- Construction materials: brick, slate, aggregate (preferably erodes or soft/crumbly is best)

- Plant material: dry or fresh bring all parts or part of the plants that you choose. (Please don’t bring any rotting or mouldy samples)

- Geological samples: mineral rich soil or clay from your garden or place if interest. (please be mindful of collecting mineral samples from privately owned sites, government owned spaces or sites of scientific interest)

Please consider acquainting yourself with the reciprocal foraging and safety guidelines by Tilke Elkins and Ruth Siddall on the Wild Pigment Project website. 

I look forward to creating your unique colour spectrum and harnessing the colour potential of the special materials you choose. 

Please bring at least 100 grams of each material you would like to transform. 

  *Please note it may not be possible to process all the raw materials into colour in one workshop, but we shall certainly create some fascinating materials for you to experiment with further at home.