Workshops & Retreats

We are committed to repair.

Our work falls in two general areas: Mending and Indigo. Each is led with an awareness that these embodied skills cannot be taught without acknowledging the history of what has come before. In fact, we find that textile history is a powerful way into conversations about racism, sexism, homophobia and the powers that tear our communities apart. We learn with our hands what we long for in our lives: we are all worthy of repair.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

We are teaching in June 21-25 2023 at the Snow Farm: New England Craft Program in Western MA.

Visible Mending, Repair & Ornamentation

Join us for this class designed as a time of skill building and personal repair. This workshop is part of the Art and Wellness Retreat. Class meets in the morning; the afternoon is a combination of open studio and an array of wellness activities.

Laura and Vernee bring their experiences and knowledge from Queer and Black culture to the topic of repair – the kinds that happens when mending fabric by hand and the more challenging repair that happens between people. Starting with the conviction that we are all worthy of repair, learn visible mending techniques on textiles and explore how ornamentation contributes to conveying worth, resistance, and joy. Participants will create a four patch sampler and are invited to bring a garment or fiber object that needs fixing or embellishment. While your hands are busy, the class will share stories of healing and contemplate how how mend the ruptures in our emotional, relational, and collective lives.

More information here: https://canvas.snowfarm.org/classes/2524

Workshops & Retreats

Our invitation to you is this: Reach out. We’ve developed a number of workshops already, but we’re also willing to build something new that meets the needs of your people. Are you a part of a community that could use some embodied knowledge on what it takes to repair what’s torn? Send an email to Laura (at) RevEverett (Dot) com. if you’re interested in hosting one of these workshops and we can talk through dates, cost, and logistics. We’ve primarily offered these workshops for adults, but we’d be happy to consider how we could create a cross-generational learning experience. Laura’s already taught a class on the chemistry of indigo for a high school environmental science class!

These workshops can be explicitly Christian or not. Each workshop can be tailored for your community.

MENDING WORKSHOPS:

  • 60 min Mending Consultation: bring something you love and want to repair and we’ll talk through strategies for mending
  • 90 min Intro to Mending with beginner’s sock darning
  • 3 hour Mindful Mending Workshop, with mending history, sock darning, and plenty of time to practice.
  • Mending Retreat: All the goodness and lots of time for silent stitching. History, workshops, consultation, wrapped up in a retreat format. This Retreat has enough time to learn basic darning and patching. If worship is a part of your practice, we can add that too. Great for small groups.
Laura with the scarf of never ending repairs.

INDIGO WORKSHOPS:

  • 2 Hour Intro to Indigo with indigo’s history, bound resist, and bandanna dyeing (up to 10 participants)
  • 4 hour Healing Indigo Dye Circle: Specifically for people of African descent. This experience is designed to invite memory and healing of those from whom this ancient practice was stolen.
  • 3 hour Indigo Resist: (to be paired with a time of Indigo Dyeing) This workshop introduces the basics of West African and Japanese stitch resist traditions. Also included are Japanese shibori folding techniques for creating patterns before dyeing. Participants will learn basic techniques before designing their own
  • Indigo Overnight: Lots of the science, including the creation of the indigo vat the day before. On the first day, we will learn over the chemistry of indigo creation and vat maintenance. We will we also choose from our resist techniques for our dyeing. On the second day, we will go through the slow process of building our deep blue color, rinsing and curing the indigo.
Vernée with her bound-resist, backyard indigo.

For more information, contact : Laura (at) Reveverett (Dot) com

We can make and repair.