Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. On Sunday 23 January, I got out of bed at 3am to attend the Zenclub Venezuela Dyeing Workshop with Lilian Hernan Gomez. I had a wonderful time learning from Lilian and I’m going to share about it some more today. Let’s get into it.

Chrissie, you don’t speak Spanish….
Yes, you’re right, I don’t, and I was a little concerned about that. I didn’t need to be though. Zenclub Venezuela were translating Lilian’s teaching into English for those of us who required it. I found the translation of Lilian’s teaching very easy to understand and I was able to follow along and keep up with the rest of the class.
I commend Zenclub Venezuela on this. Well done!!
The theme of Lilian’s Dyeing Workshop was Sustainability
The theme of Lilian’s Dyeing Workshop was Sustainability. The piece we made focused on our carbon footprints versus the waste we generate.
The dyes that we used were all naturally based. For the piece we created in the dyeing workshop, we used coffee and red wine as our base colours. Lilian also introduced us to some other natural dyes she uses. I found this part of the Dyeing Workshop very interesting.
No part of anything we created was wasted. The entire coffee stained piece was used in the composition, even if it wasn’t weaved.

Remembering this Zenclub Venezuela Dyeing Workshop with Lilian Hernan Gomez
When it came time to assemble our composition, I knew I wanted to capture the Workshop and Teacher, so I’d never forget where I learned it.
I added a title block and Lilian’s name to the composition and I dated it. Yes, it was 23 January for me, but the class was actually held at 6pm Central European Time on 22 January. I stuck with the date of the source.
Now I will always remember where I completed this piece.

What does it mean in terms of my artistic work as a whole?
Lilian introduced the concept of sustainability through Tintureando (arts, crafts, natural dyes and composition and her own ornamental motifs). It’s not something I’d really given a lot of thought to. I love how nothing was wasted with what we created in the Dyeing Workshop. By assembling things on a larger page, we were able to ensure we used everything.
The Dyeing Workshop was a really significant workshop for me. I will be so much better positioned (environmentally) as I start to take stock of my processes and consider much more deeply the things I do and use.
I’m deeply grateful to Lilian for awakening this in me.

Summing up the Dyeing Workshop
I’m actually writing this 5 hours after finishing the workshop. I’m as tired as, but I feel internally energised.
Whenever I learn something I would not normally do on my own, I’m energised. Every creative neutron I have seems to fire.
The Zenclub Venezuela Dyeing Workshop with Lilian Hernan Gomez was interesting, engaging, well paced and well developed. We created a unique piece that will look great framed and hung on the wall.
I’d particularly like to thank Eglee Torres Zuleta, CZT of Zenclub Venezuela for inviting me to join. Thank you Eglee!!

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Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx
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