We will use improvisation to create a panel using raw applique with assorted fabrics. With an emphasis on Japanese Boro aesthetics, we pay homage to the use, reuse, and upcycle culture best explained by the term mottainai. Once the panel is created, it will be adorned with the rich textures of Sashiko and Kantha hand-stitching, using colorful threads to provide dimension and elegance. These techniques can be a wonderful addition to your current sewing projects. But more importantly, they add a sense of meditation and intention to your current work practice. Supplies provided: needles, thread, denim scraps, and a piece of batting size 18” x 24”.
 
Location: Mineral Point, Wisconsin
Instructor: Maday Delgado
Cost: $125.00
Sponsor: Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts
Website, email, 608-987-3292

Join us as we explore the art of growing, harvesting, and dyeing with plants grown in the Great Lakes Region as well as the ancient practice of creating and dyeing with an organic Indigo dye vat, using both the fructose and iron vat methods which are compostable and organic. You will learn the basics of creating, maintaining, and dyeing with an organic indigo vat using the 1-2-3 indigo vat method. You’ll also learn how to process plants/flowers from the forest and your own gardens to create beautiful hues. Enjoy the beauty of Lake Superior, healthy, locally-sourced meals, onsite lodging, and retreat amenities, all in peaceful surroundings in the woods and on the water. Lodging packages available.
 
Location: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Instructor: Libby London
Cost: From $659
Sponsor: Wild Rice Retreat
Website, email, 715-779-0178

Develop experimental approaches to the layering of visual color and texture on cloth. This retreat is suitable for advanced-beginner to advanced level fiber artists. Enjoy the beauty of Lake Superior, healthy, locally-sourced meals and retreat amenities, all in peaceful surroundings in the woods and on the water. Lodging packages available.
 
Location: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Instructor: Carol Soderlund
Cost: $650
Sponsor: Wild Rice Retreat
Website, email, 715-779-0178

Immerse yourself and fully engage in the multifaceted art form that is ‘shibori’. Learn how to plan for and create resist dyed patterns and designs using itajime, cylinder wrapping, bound and stitch resists. Different types and strengths of vat ensure you will have an authentic indigo dyeing experience. You will be working samples on silk and cotton fabrics of a size that can be used later for personal craft projects. A few natural dyes will add additional colour to the range. Enjoy the beauty of Lake Superior, healthy, locally sourced meals, inspired lodging, and retreat amenities, all in peaceful surroundings in the woods and on the water. Lodging packages available.
 
Location: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Instructor: Jane Callender
Cost: Tuition + meals from $1,195
Sponsor: Wild Rice Retreat
Website, email, (715) 779-0178

Weave floral images in Boundweave, using beautiful colored wool on a cotton warp. Learn about the history of this fascinating weft-faced weave, how the structure of the warp is organized to allow the creation of pattern, and how to draw your own designs. Boundweave motifs are traditionally used to make striking wall hangings and rugs. Since the looms will be already warped, you’ll be ready to weave right away when you arrive. In the two-day workshop you will complete a small project that includes several woven flowers! This workshop is perfect for beginners and still exciting for more advanced weavers wanting to learn a new technique.
 
Location: Mineral Point, Wisconsin
Instructor: Jennie Hawkey
Cost: $220.00
Sponsor: Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts
Website, email, 608-987-3292

During this Autumn Equinox, we will weave a tapestry in response to walking in the woods that surround Wild Rice Retreat. We will explore techniques that lend themselves to describing trees and forest, sunlight on leaves, water droplets on ferns, texture of bark. The response in tapestry can be representational, abstract or somewhere in between. Enjoy the beauty of Lake Superior, healthy, locally sourced meals, inspired lodging, and retreat amenities, all in peaceful surroundings in the wood and on the water. Lodging packages available.
 
Location: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Instructor: Elizabeth Buckley
Cost: Tuition + meals from $1,105
Sponsor: Wild Rice Retreat
Website, email, (715) 779-0178

During this unique 5 day experience, delve into the fascinating techniques of traditional Zapotec weaving practices, along with an introduction to the art of natural dyeing with cochineal – one of the oldest pigments used in Mexico. Enjoy the beauty of Lake Superior, healthy, locally-sourced meals, onsite lodging, and retreat amenities, all in peaceful surroundings in the woods and on the water. Lodging packages available.
 
Location: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Instructor: Porfirio Gutierrez
Cost: From $1,149
Sponsor: Wild Rice Retreat
Website, email, 715-779-0178

Create a beautiful wool and silk felt vessel for yourself or someone on your gift-giving list! In this workshop you will learn the magical process of wet felting. Using only soapy water and your hands, in a few hours you will transform a handful of loose wool fibers into a solid and seamless three-dimensional felt object. You will take home a gorgeous felt vessel of your own design, along with the knowledge needed to create more on your own. No previous experience needed. We recommend you wear clothes that can get wet.
 
Location: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin
Instructor: Janis Merkle
Cost: $35 class fee + $15 kit fee
Sponsor: River Arts Inc
Website, email, 608-643-5215