From Plant to Artwork: Making Natural Inks

Product detailed description

This workshop combines the alchemy of colour, experimentation, a mindful approach to making, and the joy of discovery. You can look forward to playful exploration of shades, working with natural materials, and finding space to relax and create without pressure. You will leave not only with your own ink and colour chart, but also with a finished original artwork.

Basic information:

• Capacity: 8 people / workshop
• Duration: 180 minutes
• Location: kaš-mi-daš, Janovského 33, Prague 7 (map)
• Experience: suitable for complete beginners
• Workshop language: Czech, English

The workshop price includes

• a 3-hour workshop with expert guidance
• all materials needed for making natural inks and creating artwork
• creating your own colour chart with 15+ shades
• one bottle of your own ink to take home
• a set of postcards and a finished poster or painting
• individual guidance in a small group
• unlimited non-alcoholic drinks from our café

How to get here

Janovského 33, Prague 7, 170 00 (a street parallel to Dukelských hrdinů)

• Trams 6 and 17, Veletržní palác stop (approx. 1 minute on foot)
• Metro Vltavská (approx. 7 minutes on foot)
• Parking at OC Stromovka (approx. 4 minutes on foot)

How the workshop works

The workshop takes place in a calm, creative atmosphere and connects colour-making, experimentation, and personal artistic work. The individual parts follow one another naturally so that everyone can enjoy both discovering the material and creating with it.

Introduction to natural inks

• an introduction to the world of natural colours and their sources
• getting to know the materials, tools, and ways they can be used in artistic practice

Making inks and exploring colour transformations

• making ink from common natural materials
• working with modifiers and observing changes in colour
• discovering the effect of pH and mineral additives on the final shade

Creating your own colour chart

• mixing and testing different shades
• creating a rich sample chart with more than 15 colours
• choosing one colour to take home in a small bottle

Experimenting on smaller formats

• trying out different techniques of working with ink
• creating small pieces and assembling them into a mosaic
• searching for your own visual language and natural expression

Final original artwork

• choosing between the original “Onion Poster” and a free painting in A4 format
• independent work with the lecturer’s support
• bringing the process to a close in the form of a finished poster or painting

Who will guide you through the workshop

Monika Doležalová

My name is Monika Doležalová and I am an illustrator and guide to the world of natural colours. In working with inks, I am fascinated by discovering sources hidden in our immediate surroundings and by the sense of surprise that comes with processing each individual plant. I enjoy testing the qualities of different materials within the creative process, combining them, and modifying them. I deeply appreciate the way making things by hand can clear the mind.

I share my experience and joy of discovery with fellow enthusiasts of creativity and nature. In my workshops, I create space for playful experimentation, where everyone can explore their own style — with lightness and with respect for materials that came from the Earth and will one day return to it.