Making Natural Dyes from Traditional Hawaiian Plants, July 10, 2010

As a follow-up to the previous workshop on kapa making, Bernice Akamine, a native Hawaiian artist, explained how native and naturalized Hawaiian plants have been used in dye-making. After a quick introduction to the concept of dye-making, Bernice had the class busy working in groups to prepare dyes from different plants:  ma‘o hau hele, kūkaenēnē, Delissea, ‘ākala and African Tulip. Everyone went home with sample strips of dyed cloth. What a fun day!