Michel Garcia’s  ‘Natural colors and even more,’ lecture will be held Thursday, July 17th from 7-8 at the Center for Urban Horticulture followed by a catered wine and hors d’oeuvre reception.

Michel Garcia, natural dyeing expert

Michel Garcia has unlocked the natural, colorful mystery of plants, through a life-long passion and interest.  In the process he has developed ways to lessen the environmental impact of chemical dyes.  A French National born in Morocco, Garcia is a well–respected botanist, chemist, and naturalist. In addition, he is an artist, author, and curator.

Garcia first discovered natural dyeing as a teenager; his continued study of plants and pigments shaped his focus on “green chemistry.” In 1988, he founded Association Couleur Garance in Lauris, France to promote the study of the unique properties of plants.

Michel Garcia, Le Jardin Conservatoire des Plantes Tinctorales

In 2002, he established Le Jardin Conservatoire des Plantes Tinctorales, (Botanical Garden of Dye Plants) at the Chateau de Lauris.  Brimming with over 350 varieties of heritage plants used for dyeing and painting, and in the manufacture of inks, cosmetics and food, the garden is an important horticultural resource for botanists, chemists, natural dye researchers and artisans alike.

Garcia uses the garden to investigate and understand the chemistry of specific plant colorants.

His research from original sources on historical 18th and 19th century printed European textiles, and the techniques used to produce them, led him to reinterpret and revise traditional dye methods that are laborious and polluting into alternatives for manufacturing color in ecologically sound and sustainable ways.

Garcia works as a consultant in West Africa, Tunisia, Mexico, United States, Canada, China, Indonesia, and Europe.  He’s written 21 monographs and three books, and is featured in three educational DVDs.

Using proven methods to investigate the complex world of natural dyes, Michel Garcia’s students gain in-depth experience and a new perspective of plants and the indigo vat process.

‘Natural colors and even more,’ a lecture by Michel Garcia will be held Thursday, July 17th from 7-8 at the Center for Urban Horticulture followed by a catered wine and hors d’oeuvre reception.

Cost of the lecture is $12.  Registration information for the lecture can be found at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1X8qNRr9kgieT_Mn8TRlnX8XzfMKBQX1zuKQk-4yLF4A/viewform. For more information, please email Barbara Matthews, bjmatthews76@comcast.net

Lecture sponsored by University of Washington School of Art, Surface Design Association of Washington State, and Earthues, a Seattle natural dye company. More information about Michel Garcia can be found at a web site sponsored by Yoshiko Wada http://naturaldyeworkshop.com/.