Wildcraft Dyeing: Two-Eyed Seeing Natural Wool Dyeing

This hands-on learning opportunity invites participants into a relational and land-based learning experience rooted in natural dyeing practices. Through a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, participants will explore how Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science can come together to deepen our understanding of sustainable colour practices.

Grounded in respect for the land, this workshop supports participants in reconnecting with natural materials and learning how to work with plants and mushrooms in a responsible and reciprocal way. Whether in indoor or outdoor settings, this experience offers an opportunity to slow down, learn from the land, and reflect on how creative practices can support sustainability, cultural awareness, and community connection.

Participants will be guided by experienced facilitators who bring together teaching, artistic practice, and land-based knowledge to create an engaging and adaptable learning environment.

In this experience participants will:

• Learn how to responsibly forage and process natural materials for dyeing

• Explore natural dyeing techniques using plants and mushrooms

• Understand the principles of Two-Eyed Seeing by blending Indigenous knowledge and scientific approaches

• Gain practical tools to integrate natural dyeing into classrooms, artistic practices, or community programming

• Reflect on sustainability, reciprocity, and their relationship to the land through creative practice

• Learn universal weaving techniques (no cultural ties) 

Your facilitators:

Nadine McSpadden is a proud member of the Shuswap Band which is located near Radium, BC. The Shuswap Band is one of 17 Secwépemc communities located in the southern interior of BC. Nadine has recently retired from teaching and has developed a keen interest in connecting her interest in the outdoors and dyeing with natural materials. The idea of foraging, dyeing with natural dyes and connecting this practice with Indigenous ways of knowing and being feels like a natural fit. It relates to Indigenous pedagogy such as land-based teaching, two-eyed seeing and the 5 r’s (respect, reciprocity, relationship, relevance and reverence). She looks forward to hosting workshops related to these topics.

Zoe is a Vancouver, BC-based fibre artist and biologist of Scottish descent whose work is rooted in an intimate relationship with land, ecology, and living systems. Her work bridges ancestral craft with scientific knowledge, drawing on foraged plant and fungal materials to produce natural dyes and hand-processed fibres that reflect the landscape. Through wool processing, hand spinning, and weaving, she creates textiles that embody both ecological processes and cultural memory. She has been teaching historical natural dye techniques and other fiber arts in over 50 workshops internationally for 25 years. Her main focus is on two-eyed seeing workshops with Nadine McSpadden, balancing science and traditional ways of knowing.