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About Elisabeth, The Lansdowne House, and the colour blue

TO READ ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS AND COURSES PROGRAM LOOK HERE

Elisabeth is a French born artist who lives and works in Glasgow Scotland. She runs a sustainable studio in the West end half way between the Glasgow Botanic garden and the Kelvingrove park.

Her original training was in Decorative arts with Christie’s and the University of Glasgow. After graduating stencilling Mackintosh became her career. For 20 years she was involved in commissions with the Mackintosh community and was responsible for the recreation of The House for an Art Lover, the renovation of the Willow Tea rooms and some museum commissions.

#thebigrose stencilling event at the Lighthouse, Glasgow.

Elisabeth has always been attracted by natural colour but it was only in 2015 that she moved from stencilling to more eco techniques.

Today Elisabeth grows a dye garden in the grounds of the Glasgow Garden Botanical garden, she travels to study Natural dyes and shares her knowledge in workshops both in person and online. She is a member of the Weavers guild and the Quilting guild, and writes regular articles in their Journals.

In 2025 she will offer you to share her sustainable journey:

THE TRUE COLOUR OF THE COTINUS

“The True Colour of the Cotinus” is a global Eco-printing project created by French artist Elisabeth Viguie Culshaw in 2020 during the Covid crisis from her Glasgow studio.

Using the online platform Zoom and a dedicated Facebook group, she wanted to provide isolated Eco-printers and creative individuals from all over the world with a communal simple technique to follow.

By summer 2021 over 700 participants have taken part virtually and created blue prints from the Cotinus plant. In 2022 we learn to extract pigment and we had an exhibition in the Glasgow Botanical garden as well as a printalong Masterclass where 30 Botanical printers printed together while online.

Resilience and creativity were the project key focus, friendship and beautiful prints are the result.

If you want to take part in the project look here for future workshops or PDF methods for fabric and paper printing. Taking one workshop or obtaining one method will allow you in the group. https://thelansdownehouseofstencils.com/2021/09/01/the-true-colour-of-the-cotinus-how-to-make-blue-eco-prints-from-cotinus-leaves/

THE INDIGO PLOT in the Glasgow Botanic Garden and Growing your own Indigo at home in 2025:

In 2022 I started a Natural Dye Garden in the Glasgow Botanic Garden “The Indigo Plot” https://thelansdownehouseofstencils.com/2022/05/30/theindigoplot-at-the-botanics/ I love the idea of helping people making the connection between plants and colour. As a natural dyer I care for the environment and I aim at working in a sustainable way. The quality of my process and the ingredients I use are important to me and I want to pass this on. In the first year in the dye garden I grew with the help of some volunteers some Woad, Indigo for blue, Madder for red, Genista and Weld for yellow, some dye flowers and a lot of Flax. I shared during workshops and an exhibition in Septembre. I also curated a project with some home growers in Scotland. Together we grew Japanese Indigo and experimented with it.

I am planning in 2023 a Natural Dye Exhibition in the Glasgow Botanical Garden on September 15 – 17. That will include a Masterclass in Natural dyeing using the dye plants grown in “The Indigo Plot”.

But where did I start?

Elisabeth was trained in Decorative Arts by Christie’s and The University of Glasgow in the 1990’s. With strong connections to the Mackintosh Heritage, She pursued a career in the recreation of historic wall treatment and specialised in stencilling with a special emphasis on the Art Nouveau period. She is well known for her interpretation of Mackintosh’s The House for an Art Lover and her most recent recreation work of the Glasgow “Willows tea rooms” from 1903.

She has a strong interest in Community art and she has been running almost yearly programs involving the Community in Art projects, such as The Big Rose, (West of Scotland, Mackintosh Festival 2016) involving over 500 participants across 13 venues. The public was involved in stencilling large Mackintosh roses outdoors creating communal carpets outside Mackintosh buildings.

She was commissioned in 2015 to recreate some interior stencilling first designed in 1903 by designer and architect George Walton in Dunblane in Scotland.

Inspired by her regular travelling in South East Asia since 1995 she gradually moved into the use of more Eco techniques like Indigo, natural dyes and Ecoprinting. She is self trained but also catches specialised workshops with specialist artists such as Aboubakar Fofana for Indigo, Irit Dullman for Ecoprinting as well as learning from local wisdom she finds around her. She organises skill swaps with other artist as she believe we only learn well from teachers we feel passionate about. In 2020 she organised a skill swap in Thailand sharing her Eco-printing methods with some community of dyers and textile artists agains some of their local knowledge.

She runs The Lansdowne House her home based studio since 1990 and in turn has been using it as a private studio, as a school of stencilling and up-cycling and more recently as the online studio for her online live classes. She entertains a long term relationship with her pupils and regularly organises “get together” wether online live or in person.

2017 The Big Banner project saw 13 “Hand stencilled Roses banners” by groups of participants in public locations before an exhibition of those at The Lighthouse design center in Glasgow during the Mackintosh Festival

2019/2020 in Printing in Woodlands, she gathers the public an gardeners in the Woodlands Community garden to learn the art of Ecoprinting working outdoors. An exhibition of communal pieces takes place in the Glasgow Botanical garden in February 2020 with an open day of free crafts workshops.

In the summer of 2020, in the peak of the Covid crisis she launched “The True Colour of the Cotinus” a global Eco-printing project to test the colours you can obtain from the Cotinus (Smoke Bush) leaves. Set to test the prints on paper, in 2021 the emphasis has moved to fabric with another two online workshops. By mid 2021 over 400 participants are involved in sampling leaves on various target materials. Elisabeth comments “the emphasis is not the leaves, nor the prints… its about creating a focus for participants to connect with. The Cotinus is a great leaf to print and the colour blue obtained gives everyone a focus for attention. The creativity involved and the connection it has created is tremendous. The buzz among the group is well worth the hard work I ended up putting in the project. I hope this will culminate in a physical exhibition at some point.”

When at home, Elisabeth works in a sustainable manner in the circular economy, recycling cloth gathered from the local BnB and using leaves from her local park. When purchasing cloth and dyes she invest in community of weavers/dye producers who can benefit from her orders.

She lives in Glasgow with her husband but her circle of friends, family and pupils is international… she says… “The World is my Village”.

She likes… travelling, cooking, gardening, and spending quiet times in her studio.

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LEARNING WITH ME IN 2025

(IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES USING PAYPAL EMAIL ME bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com)

I love sharing my knowlege and I believe the best way of progressing for a tutor is to share and discover new questions, avenues for experiments and learning opportunities. For that reason I have set up a number of workshop in my Studio in Glasgow but also online both using Live sessions on Zoom or Self paced for those who prefer working at their own pace.

Scroll down to find the information and if you have questions email me bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com

FaQ:

What if I miss an online session:

All my sessions are recorded and shared for review for several months.

What if I can’t attend a workshop:

All bookings are final but I will try as much as I can to offer you a space in the next session.

What if I want to work in my own pace:

I offer some self paced workshops and some with live options. You have to decide if you want to conform for a time for the live sessions or just plod along at your own pace… The price reflects the lack of live sessions.

How long can I keep the tuition:

Usually for “ever” as long as you keep the accessing details,

How do I speak to you if I am stuck:

I set up a FB page for all queries and we interact in it together with all the other pupils.

To book a space select your workshop and make a payment. You will receive a receipt and within a day or so a confirmation of your space. I am afraid that I am not able to offer refunds on online workshops but I will always try and offer you a space at an alternative date if your circumstances prevent you to complete a workshop on have committed to.

NOW SCROLL DOWN AND DISCOVER WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER YOU:

To visit The Indigo plot, my dye garden at the Glasgow Botanics please check on this event on Eventbrite: VISIT THE GARDEN HERE

The True Colour of the Cotinus on fabric self paced 2025 online method book anytime

The self paced workshop will teach you about The True Colour of the Cotinus technique to Botanical print blue monoprints with Cotinus leaves on Cellulose and protein material (including paper) You will learn how to select, prepare fabric and dyes and print them. This method was finalised in May 2025 in a online live workshop on zoom and you will get the replay video of the live session as well as the instructions related to the method. With this tuition you get access to the FB group “The True Colour of the Cotinus” where you can find results for hundreds of participants since the beginning of the project. This method is perfect for the new printers but offers a lot of insight to experienced printers

£50.00

Black and White, 4 weeks Mark Making with Tannin and Iron Online live workshop starts 5 October

From 5th October 4pm UK (London time) for 4 weeks, on live on zoom online sessions once a week a 3 hours session recorded for replay and delivered with instructions for you to keep. In this workshop part of a long term project about Tannins and ink, We will study tannins and how we can use them to make ink, dye, discharge and print. We will make an manipulate the colour of inks, We will botanical print on fabric and paper creating tannin backgrounds. We will discharge the tannin in a mark making attempt to create patterns on paper or cellulose fabric. We will look at bought tannins and those you can forage in the outdoors as well as in your kitchen to create a colour pallet. Tannins are substantive dyes which means they are colour fast and don’t require a mordant so they are the perfect dyes to use for art project and for work due to stand the test of time. We will create a number of samples small scale (20 x 30 cms max) but I will address upscaling but not demonstrate it. You will leave with a number of new skills and some great samples. In this workshop I do not teach creativity, I teach dyes and you will be able to use your own creativity for designs. I do not provide any kits but I will provide you with some basic suppliers lists and off course a list of ingredients you need. This is suitable for beginners.

£150.00

From Blue to Green, Natural dye residency at The Indigo Plot Glasgow, 13 September 10am to 14th Septembre 4pm

This is a workshop for 6 participants maximum. I only run this once a year at harvest time. If you want to understand how plant to colour works in a truly sustainable way this is the workshop for you. If you are an Art student and are thinking about creating sustainable dyed work this will give you an insight into true sustainability. It will give you back a sense of the seasons and the sense of the real labour involved in sustainability. I will share with you the time line about my plant production used for the workshop. If you are studying for a degree and need to study the behind you will access a lot of information during the week end. We will spend a week end in my studio creating natural colours grown in the Indigo Plot, my dye garden at the Glasgow Botanical garden. We will collect dye plants at the plot (weather depending) and use them to create, blue, yellow and green shades on yarn and cloth (silk, linen, cotton). I will address alternative option to home grown dyes but using my home grown will root you in the true relationship between plant and colour in a sustainable way. We will look at how a variety of yellow yielding plants affect the green and how the blue pigment extraction can also motivate the density of the blue/green. We may if lucky achieve a purple with Indirubin, The great majority of blues will be dyed from my fresh leaves Japanese Indigo and Woad from that season. We will be learning about mordants and dyes and how to secure dye on fibre. This is suitable for beginners or more advance participants. You will have access to my small shop of home grown dyes for participants if you want to take home a small amount of dyes to test further. I will also share with you the basic dye instructions on the basis of a blog post online.

£200.00

Indigo ferrous vat building and printing resists online live (recorded) workshop (4th October for 4 weeks)

This workshop is about creating marks or patterns on cellulose material using a resist paste from China based on soya flour and a Ferrous Indigo vat. It is perfect for beginners if you are ready to allocate some time to your work. We will create a sampler of multi shades of blue to allow to print multi blue shades. I will not teach the creativity here but the methodology and your input will be to create the designs and apply them. With a first session on the 4th October 2025 at 4pm for 4 weeks London time this is a 4 weeks online live workshop about setting up a Ferrous Indigo vat and maintaining it. We will then print with Indigo using resist techniques. Each week will see us going deeper in the process and it will be an advantage if you can follow me along during the same week. You will receive a list of ingredients about one month before the workshop to allow you to gather all you need. The minimum size of vat to use is 25 L but you could upscale to 100 L if you want to work in a good scale (a large bin). It is an advantage to have a space to work in but you can practise the technique small scale in a kitchen or cellar, you need access to water and electricity near by. During the 4 weeks we will set up the vat and learn to keep it alive but also to revive it if you loose the reduction. The pieces produces should be around 20 x 30 cm wide for samples but I will discuss (but not practise) upscaling. This is suitable for cloth not garments at a beginner’s level. Sessions are online live, recorded and shared for 2 years with instructions

£150.00

THE TRUE COLOUR OF THE COTINUS ON LEATHER –

This workshop is being reviewed and will be available for booking in January 2025

MASTERING BOTANICAL PRINTING ON CELLULOSE MATERIAL WITH NATURAL DYES – 8 weeks online with some live in collaboration with The Natural dyers and growers Academy in Ireland. CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW FOR DETAILS

THE TRUE COLOUR OF THE COTINUS ON PAPER – SELF PACED METHOD (NO LIVE SESSIONS)

The True Colour of the Cotinus is a global online project I launched in 2020, it is about Ecoprinting the Cotinus leaves to obtain blue. The PAPER method was finalised in 2020 after two global online testing with 100 participants each. We use facebook to share results. This method gives you the final result and how to get Blue out of your own leaves/paper. It is suitable for beginners … by buying this method you are in the project and will be able to access the Private Facebook group of over 500 participants to post your results and interact.

£40.00

THE TRUE COLOUR OF THE COTINUS SELF PACED ONLINE METHOD FOR FABRIC PRINTING

The True Colour of the Cotinus is a global online project I launched in 2020, it is about Eco-printing the Cotinus leaves to obtain blue. The FABRIC METHOD was finalised in 2021 after two global online testing with 100 participants each. We use facebook to share results. This method gives you the final result and how to get Blue out of your own leaves/fabric. It is best for silk and linen but will work for cotton and other material. It is suitable for beginners … by buying this method you are in the project and will be able to access the Private Facebook group of over 500 participants to post your results and interact.

£40.00

LEAVES ON PAPER – START ANY TIME SELF PACED ONLINE COURSE IN BOTANICAL CONTACT PRINTING ON PAPER 12 LESSONS NO LIVE

This is an online course in Botanical Contact Printing on paper. It is perfect for beginners as it teaches step by step. It is based on written instructions, photos and video material, a FB for support and from time to time a live session. 12 lessons, 2 printing ways, several mordanted ways, one bookbinding make. Once the course is online it is yours to keep for two years.

£120.00

PRINT AND WEAVE, AN ONLINE SELF PACED WORKSHOP ABOUT BOTANICALLY PRINTING PAPER AND WEAVING

THIS WORKSHOP IS BEING REVIEWED AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE MIDDLE OF APRIL 2025 Print and Weave is an online workshop self paced with no live sessions but video content. It runs in collaboration with Katherine Cowtan, Scottish weaver. It was launched in conjonction with my “Printing in Woodlands” exhibition. Together we will botanical print some paper with two of my techniques and your local leaves and Katherine will guide us in the weaving of it to make paper Art.

£99.00

PRINT DYE AND STITCH, AN ONLINE SELF PACED WORKSHOP ABOUT BOTANICAL PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING

THIS WORKSHOP IS BEING REVIEWED AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE MIDDLE OF APRIL 2025 In collaboration with Cassandra Barron this workshop will take place on my Teachable platform. It is completely self paced. With me you will learn two techniques of Botanical printing on paper, Cassandra will then guide you in making 3 different hand stitched books using your prints. This workshop is launched in conjonction with “Printing in Woodlands” the exhibition in Kirkintilloch in the Spring of 2023

£120.00

ECOPRINTING ON PAPER FOR ART – THE PDF METHOD (SELF PACED WORKSHOP NO LIVE)

In this PDF instruction I will share with you my technique developed over several years of Ecoprinting on paper to get clear and colourful prints using Botanical material and Natural dyes. We will explore via the PDF text and a number of videos 3 methods (simmering in dyes, dyes and tannin blankets, Iron blanket, steaming with blankets, texture blankets) on a variety of paper using several natural dyes or tannins. You will learn to: – Select paper – Understand your leaves fresh and dried. – Understand mordants and dyes and extract your dyes from nature – Put together your equipment – Print your paper – Learning to discharge text or designs from your prints – Finish and seal your paper so you can use it for making books, putting on a frame, using for greeting cards… Will be delivered by email link in 24 hours of purchasing

£49.00

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From nothingness to nearly black … 7 shades of blue, Fermenting Indigo with Aboubakar Fofana… I came home in Bali !

I am a textile artist and a lover of blue and I teach Indigo dyeing in Scotland (my next Indigo event) on a regular basis, but I love learning myself and I believe I know so little compared with Master Indigo dyer Aboubakar Fofana so I went all the way to Bali last November to attend one of his workshops on Fermentation Indigo organised by Threads of Life Bali Its a very long way to go for a weeks workshop but The Threads of Life’s premises set in the Bebali dye garden are so well suited to Indigo dyeing that it was very well worth the effort.

I did think it would be interesting but I did not realise I would get this exceptional feeling of  “coming home” … I though it would be about blue… but it was about a beautiful process, mainly about a communion with nature and how you can understanding it by looking at it, smelling it, mixing it, waiting, recording it and off course accepting the result a beautiful vat dye called Indigo, blessing it, maintaining it and finally getting blue from it.

We were a small group of about 12 meeting on the first day of the workshop, such an international group, Rachel, Margot… from somewhere in Australia, Prairie from Thailand, someone from Bengladesh, two ladies from the US … many different expectations, many different expertise, one aim… learning from Aboubakar.

Him, a master of his Art in complete communion with the huge fermentation vats he creates out of African Indigo,  but also a tired traveller that morning, Bali customs had held him for many hours the night before to test the dried mud and the Indigo fermented balls he had brought in his travel bag as a true Alchemist style… may be they were looking for the secret potion they did not find… William Ingram who runs The Threads of Life would be our father and our scientist for the week. I though him as a “frustrated teacher” wanting to find the science behind each process… he makes my day every time he can explain the chemistry behind the magic. I did not get the chance to join a chemistry class in my young days and I am still trying to find out how things work in a recurring manner… Pung the chief dyer of the Bebali garden but also the director of the Bebali foundation  which supports artisans through Indonesia in keeping their techniques and their traditions. Pung is a constant source of information, a smiling source of information, profoundly involved in the local community and so proud of his team.

And we start… Aboubakar is very straight with us… don’t you think this is about Blue… its about you understanding the process… you will grind, mix, smell, stir, understand… make it happen, and if you are lucky you will get to see the fermented vat active… we did not… one week was not enough for the little fermented balls to get their magic going… but I have recorded the smell of African fermented indigo in my head for any future tries… and we went back to the grinding mill… Lets work with paste now, lets reduce… two reduced vats using the Fructose method… one with fructose, one with sugar cane, lets learn from the eruption of our slake lime… lets measure Ph, and temperature, let it happen… by tomorrow surely there will be some blue… one can hope…

But if there is not… the Bebali garden’s vats will do nicely (3 huge vats of 300 liters… yes yes monstrous huge vats…) !!!

Can we dye please… I have crossed half of the world to come and make some blue cloth… please can I dye now????  No yet says the Master… now you have to learn to clean and prepare your cloth… May be tomorrow… OHHH ! Sheer frustration…. 7 small squares of cloth are getting boiled and stirred in Ash water… May be tomorrow.

And today… we open the lids, and we stir, and we smell, and we take the temperature and the Ph… not yet says the Master…. but you can start with the Bebali vats… Pung said yes you can… but wait though… you have to first fit some nets at the bottom… you don’t want to disturb the bottom of the vats…

Please can we dye sir? My hands are aching to be blue and my nails are still so clean… I want to make pretty patterns on a scarf and take it home to show off…

Not yet first you have to master your shades… its not about the pretty pattern its not about the blue… you still don’t understand you silly children its about the process… you must learn the process…

Look now this is what I want you to do… you must dip your squares of purest cotton (now ever so clean) in this vat once, twice, three times as many times as it takes but you must have 7 shades… starting with white and then the colour of nothingness (somewhere between white and blue… almost nothing but still something on this cloth… its beautiful )  … and finish at almost black… its still blue not quite black but so dark the uneducated eye would think it is black…

How many times please sir? As many times as you need to… you will have to stop talking now, you will have to concentrate, you will have to slow down and breathe gently and listen to the water floating in the vats while counting, you have to take turn and learn to wait, you have to learn to observe, your 7 shades will gradually be born, you have to follow a gentle pattern, they have to play blue like a melody, no discordance no big jumps, the right progression…

Will this not take forever sir? I have dipped this cloth at least 15 times, my mind is so tired… please Master am I there yet?

Well you tell me … it is your cloth after all and you have to learn to play your own music… Do you like this tune ? Are you happy with your own result… I cant tell you it is about you liking your own work !

Ohhhh! Master I don’t want to make a pretty pattern any more now I want to play the most delicate melody with my blue cloth… please can I have more time?

Well I am afraid a great melody is only as good as the paper it is written on … if your cloth is not “finished” properly it will not last… you need to rinse, rinse, and rinse again… until your hands are aching from it. And then only you will be able to say if you love your Melody…. And then you can make pretty patterns… Lets rinse more…

Now you can make pretty patterns… When we are all done we will listen to every one’s melody… Look is it not so beautiful????

Never have I achieved so much and so little at a workshop, this time no suitcase full of Artwork, one beautiful scarf stitched and dipped in an interesting Shibori pattern… a beautiful loose weave cotton woven in Bali and part of the From Farmer to Fabric program  of the Threads of Life… I know now every time I will wear my scarf someone in Bali will benefit from my purchase. But more importantly 7 little squares of beautifully dyed Blue cloth… perfect record of my progression on a process taught to me by Aboubakar…. I feel so proud of them, they are the proof of my understanding of the process… I am so very happy…

On the last day we displayed all our melodies on a table and surprise… all melodies are perfect but still they are different ever so slightly they are all so stunning… see for yourself.

This was such a long way to go but I have learned so much, a new technique, playing music with blue, an infinite patience… I feel in complete communion with a group of dyers, with a community, with even a Master dyer.

My hands did get so blue at the end… it took several weeks for my nails to be fully clean… I will cherish my squares of blue for ever they are by far my most difficult piece of work and I am so proud of them.

Aboubakar Fofana teaches Indigo at The Thread of Life every year. I highly recommend it…. but not if you want to make many pretty things… only join in if you want to be in true communion with the Blue Stuff.

Love

Betty xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Why I love my Journey as an Eco Artist !

The other morning I checked my art supplies, I though they were a bit low before the next day workshop and so… time to replenish… on my way to … The Kelvingrove Park…. in the West end of Glasgow, walking distance from my studio, it is lovely and a little hub of nature in the centre of the city. I took a lovely morning walk, I had a chat with the dog walkers, found some lovely autumn leaves, horse chestnut, some oak, some dried maples all in my large bag. I even stopped by An Clachan the friendly coffee shop by the children’s play park. They make a wonderful coffee and a great flap jack. After that… I went home and Eco Printed.

How about that for work life balance !

Eco Printing is a wonderful creative technique at every level.  Beginners to my workshops can produce beautiful pieces from early days, and I love how versatile the technique can be wether you are an artist, you love textile, or work with mix media, the prints you make help you mapping your creativity. Different seasons, different colours, different leaves or printing surfaces, different colours… Some call it magical but really it is chemistry !

For myself I love the resist papers I get, the negative prints so to speak… the paper blankets which give me beautiful rusty images. They are unpredictable but always beautiful.

I am an Eco Artist and I love my journey, no online shopping for me, no fighting the motorway traffic to the local Craft shops, no huge bill for specialist paint… My main ingredient… Scottish leaves  ! so when I need some… I just take a walk in the park. How amazing is that !

I will be running my next week end Eco Printing next October in my own Studio in Glasgow details https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eco-print-your-scottish-leaves-week-end-tickets-63310032010 We will be drinking great coffee and printing Scottish leaves in my Big Aluminium Pot, we will keep cosy by the fire and make amazing and unique prints. If you are a beginner you will be blown away by the result, if you have printed before… join me for more creative fun.

I hope to see you there.

Love

Betty x

SUSTAINABLE NATURAL DYEING IN THAILAND

Sustainable Natural dyeing is such a topical expression of today but I never find that that description follows what I see happening in books and social media. For years I have been travelling to South East Asia to capture true “Sustainable Natural dyeing. Thailand is my favorite place.

Last November during my “Colours of Thailand” retreat I took a small group of keen textile artists to my favorite places to experience Sustainable Natural dyeing. We visited Sakhon Nakon and spent 4 days in Mann Craft garden working with plants to create a Natural colour pallet.

Working in Mann Garden was a treat and we enjoyed so much working from local plants and natural cotton.

We started by harvesting and preparing the plants with the help of the local gardeners. The plants we used :

  • Ebony seeds (Grey to Black)
  • Myrobolan leave s (Yellow to Green)
  • Tree bark for brown to reddish
  • Accacia fruit/seeds (grey)
  • and off course Indigo (we made a tamarind vat from scratch).

We started by scouring and mordanting all the material before using it we also made the dye bath in very large pots over the wood fire. In Mann’s garden in an attempt to work in a sustainable way, wood is collected from the ground and used for fire, ashes are collected and will be used to make ash water a source of alkaline water. Every element collected, grown and harvested are used and recycled.

In a second step we immersed the mordanted fabric in the dye bath and constantly stirring we dyed it to our basic shades.

But how to create a complete colour pallet… modifying is a technique used in the West to create a range of shades from one original dye bath. Ferrous sulphate is a traditional modifier and can shift yellow into green, or greys. I found in South East asia we use lime water as an alkaline with many dyes, Raising the Ph of some dyes will change some dull brown to gorgeous reddish ones.

In the garden we rinsed dyed fabric, split it into sections and dipped them into the modifiers Ferrous and lime water, for each shade dyed we ended up with several colours, below is a photo of our final shades.

I like this approach very much, we did not try and create a rainbow … we did not aim at some result, we dyed and observed with gratitude what we obtained. The result was very satisfying. Working large scale and being able to make a connection between plants and colour was so much fun.

These were done during our trip to Sakhon Nakhon. The retreat was organised for 6 travellers from the 20th of November to the 2nd of December. We stopped in Bangkok, Sakhon Nakhon and Chiangmai interacting with artisans and artists on the way. I will be running this again in 2026 between the 19th of November till the 3rd December and information can be found on

https://thelansdownehouseofstencils.com/2026/01/23/the-colours-of-thailand-discovering-the-colours-and-fibers-of-thailand-tour-19th-nov-3nd-of-dec-2026/

booking-form-2026.pdfDownload
thai-retreat-26-first-draft.pdfDownload

THE COLOURS OF THAILAND – Discovering the colours and fibers of Thailand tour – 19th Nov – 3nd of Dec 2026

This photo is of the 2025 group in Mann’s crafts garden studio where we became Art by posing for a photo inside a unique Indigo dyed Art paper frame. This has remained a unique memory of the trip.

BOOKINGS APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN ON THE 10 February at 8am UK time, if you have questions before that please contact me on bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com

booking form 2026Download

INFORMATION PACK:

Below is the first draft of our 2026 retreat program, as time goes by amendments will be made as new more interesting activities might emergent or additional content will be added. The final version of the program will be communicated to the travellers one month before the retreat. In 2025 we were invited at the drop of a hat one week before our retreat started to the International Kram (Indigo) festival in Bangkok on our day 1, it was exciting and unique … In this kind of scenario the proposed change would introduced to the formed group for approval or rejection.

thai retreat 26 first draftDownload
So many images will remain in your mind after your trip

I am so happy you are interested in my 14 days retreat “Colours of Thailand” in November 2026.

You will find below all the information you need, together with an initial itinerary you can print for easy read and a booking form.

If you still have questions please contact me on bettysbeautifullife@bettysbeautifullife

“The Colours of Thailand” is a 14 days, 14 nights private journey in Thailand for 6 participants only visiting 3 unique locations to interact with contemporary artists, dyers, markets, and dye gardens all related to textile art. It is a trip far away from the touristic routes, a dedicated tour organised with my contacts only. A magical time to understand the real “Colours of Thailand”.

It is also a unique opportunity to travel like a local using local transports, eating local food, interacting like one of us instead of being one of them… A unique opportunity to become part of the scene and creating bounds with true Thai artists and craft people. As you get to know my Thai family you become of of them.

I started travelling in South East Asia many years ago and over time Thailand has become my favorite “home from home”. With its glorious climate, food and delighteful Thai people it attracted me at the beginning of my journey but over time I forged relationships with local residents who specialise in dyeing, spinning, weaving and all textile activities.

In the last 5 years my trips I have been more engaged in collaborations … taking part in a Festival, sharing Botanical Printing, spending time in someone’s dye studio testing their local plants. I have visited more local markets like the community “Bamboo market” in Chiangmai, I have eaten more and more very local and delicious food, I have learned more and more about today’s Thai Natural fiber and colour artists.

My Thailand is not the Thailand of the ancient Hill tribes and remote places… my Thailand is the Thailand of today’s people who aim at earning a living in sharing between themselves and the rest of the World their knowledge and ressources. They are today’s dyers, market owners, community leaders… they are people that I respect immensely for working hard and always smiling. They are my family and I want to share them with you…

I have been asked for many years to take a group there and I will this year almost accept… I say almost because I dont want to “lead a tour” in a touristic way and I am not interested by a large party… I will be offering to 6 people (a family group size) to come along with me to a visit to discover my “Colours of Thailand”.

We will have a little look at Bangkok to get accustomed at Thai time and climate

What we will do:

Together we will meet in Bangkok were we will spend a couple of days discover while we recover from the long journey. We will acclimatise to the hot weather, learn to greet in Thai, visit one or two temples and start discover before moving to Sakhon Nakon were we will visit a wonderful dye garden. There we will mingle with the dyers and growers of Cotton and Indigo. We will meet some, work with some and eat good Isan food with the locals, we will visit “Indigo Street” the week end market. In the dye garden we will discover local dye plants and over two days set out to create colours on fabric and embroidery yarn to take home. We will travel to our final destination Chiangmai. In the northern town we will discover local textile and food markets, we will discover the Lanna culture from history to every day life, We will learn about manuscript woven covers and perhaps learn to weave one and many other local customs. Our last day will be spent in Chiangdao dyeing with Indigo some pieces to take home before visiting an Indigo plantation.

I have arranged this trip making sure that not only I share with you the best of my knowledge but my very own friends… Your financial contribution will benefits to local communities and individuals whom I personally know and work with on a regular basis. This trip is very personal to me. This is my way to introduce a very small group to my own network but also giving back to my network to compensate for the beautiful “taking care” they are providing for me year after year.

My family will become your family for the 14 days and 14 nights. Together we will discover the textile and natural colours of Thailand. We will visit museums and galleries, meet contemporary dyers and communities, visit dye gardens, visit Markets and specialised studios. We will taste delicious local food and mix up with local artists.

During our retreat of 14 days and 14 nights we will become a creative community, a family and make unique memories. In 14 days we cant see everything but I hope this will give you an appetite for coming back.

I have calculated the cost of this trip trying to be fair to everyone, that is making it as affordable as I can but making sure that everyone we visit can benefit from our passing by. The prices quoted should cover most of your time with me from the moment we meet in Bangkok until we part in Chiangmai. It will cover your accommodation as described in the itinerary, Most of your food, our local transports, the workshops and entries into the museums we visit. I am making sure to cover sensible fees for all helpers and tipping will be at your discretion. Off course I will be getting a fee for preparing and for leading this tour because a lot of time is going into it.

We will stay in lovely local hotels and eat delicious and healthy Thai food. I have personally tested all location. Most of them are my favorite

What about cost of food:

Most of the meals are covered because some of the locations we will be travelling in might make it difficult to find an alternative. When in Chiangmai you decide to take time off, it will be possible but I will not be able to operate any refund for meals you would not take with the group. I will operate on the same basis for the workshops I have planned. However when we visit markets I have planned a free lunch to allow you to explore. If you decide you still want to eat with the group we will grab a few dishes and eat together for little money.

About your time before and after the retreat:

We will start in Bangkok because it will be most travellers’ port of entry in Thailand and our hotel is only a short taxi journey from the main airport. I will share advice on possible ways to commute to our hotel but I will not take responsibility for your arrival in Thailand nor your transfer, our hotel has however to organise a transfer if you do not want to brave the local taxis, it will be up to you to approach me to request it. Our retreat will start on the 19th November at 6pm at our hotel (in the Siam part of Bangkok), you will be able to check into your hotel from 2pm and leave your luggage there before if you arrive very early.

We will visit local markets and crafts markets which will connect you with very interesting aspect of Thai life. I can take you out of the beaten touristic
track

Please check the time difference with your own country and assess if you need an extra time to get over jet lag. Although we will start slow some people need an extra day or so to recover from long haul. It will be possible for you to arrange additional days accommodation directly with our hotel. I will not be able to do this for you but you could request contact details.

We will part company in Chiangmai because it is just possible you decide to extend your trip once there and the North offers many option for more travelling further (visiting temples, going into Laos, visiting the Golden Triangle). The SEN festival (4th to 7th of December 2026) and Chiangmai Design Week (2nd week of December 2026) this year kick in a few days after we part. I will not be able to organise further accommodation but I can point you to the relevant websites and I will communicate dates of relevant events to those who booked on the retreat.

We will take part in dye classes through our trip to find the colours of Thailand, in dyeing with plants, Indigo dyeing, watercolour making, banana tannin printing. We will meet contemporary Thai dye artists

INSURANCE:

This is always a very important subject for me when travelling in South East Asia.

This retreat does not include any cover for well being or attendance for the participants, nor for any accident you might have if you tripped or crossed the road without looking… I will only be able to accept participants who have contracted a travel insurance that will cover them for any health issues, and for your own benefit you should seek cover in case you have to cancel your attendance before the trip. I will request the detail from you before I welcome you in Bangkok.

We will discover some traditional and contemporary craft

BOOKINGS and CANCELLATION:

BOOKING requests will open on the 10th of February until the retreat is full. A booking form will be added on that day above for you to fill up and email back to me.

The total cost of the retreat is £4000 all included, that is from Bangkok to Chiangmai all accomodation, activities, Most of the good and all the internal transport. You will be liable for the drinks, a couple of meals when you have time off and off course ALL YOUR SHOPPING…

In order to secure a space after your booking request has been accepted you will be asked for an initial deposit of £1000 that is non refundable, you will have 48 hours to make the payment (by bank transfer or by credit card) . The final payment of £3000 will be due 12 weeks before the trip starts. A request will be issued on the due date and you will have 48 hours to make the payment. Bank transfers using the platform Wise will be suggested. PLEASE NOTE NO CREDIT CARD NOR PAYPAL PAYMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTABLE BECAUSE OF THE HEAVY CHARGES THEY CREATE.

Refund conditions are:

  • From time of booking to 12 weeks before trip date = Loss of initial deposit but balance due will be cancelled.
  • From 12 weeks before trip date, cancellations will be accepted, the cost of the cancellation will be of 100% of the cost of the trip unless you can substitute a new participant in which case the cost will be of £500 for administrative and the amount refunded will be what was invoiced to you less £500.
  • Substitution will be accepted only after the payment has been made by the alternative participant or your balance transferred to them if that is a better option to you. Please note the refund would be make in £ British which might result in a slight loss/gain due to exchange rate with your own currency.

INFORMATION:

Please find below the relevant information and details to allow you to register interest.

Please note that bookings will be taken from the 10th February at 10am GMT, until the trip is filled. There are only 6 spaces and I need them filled for us to go ahead. All bookings are final please make sure to contract a travel insurance in case you need to cancel. You can not just book a space you have to submit a request. I want to make sure you will definitively enjoy the trip and are fit to take part.

You will be able to secure a space with a deposit of £1000. Below you will find all relevant information concerning price and payment conditions for single and shared rooms.

You will find here:

Please READ AGAIN AND NOTE the following information:

  • The tour price and conditions are available on the Booking form page.
  • A deposit of £1000 (UK pound sterling) is necessary to secure a booking together with a fully filled booking form. On reception of your booking form and when request has been accepted I will send you information for payment. You will have a week to make payment of the deposit. The balance will be due 12 weeks before the retreat. Delay in final payment will be followed by cancellation of your booking.
  • We need 6 bookings for the trip to go ahead and you will be advised when that is secured so that you can make your travel arrangements. The final deadline will be on the 1st October 2026 but if we have reached enough bookings I will confirm that the trip is going after the second payment has been made to allow you to make your travel arrangements.
  • Please make sure you only apply for a space if you have a good level of fitness and mobility as in our trip we will be using local transport, use buildings that don’t have lifts or escalators and some days walk little distance etc… If you are vegetarian please note that fish and fish sauce are used in most Thai cuisine, please I can not control the cooking methods.
  • If I dont reach the minimum number of bookings I will have to cancel the trip and you will be advised before the 12th of August. In that case you will receive a full refund of the amount you were invoiced in £ sterling. If you have made a bank transfer it will be reversed and it is possible that in the conversion the amount refunded is slighly different.
  • Places will be allocated on a first come first served. All rooms are single.
  • A final itinerary including hotels and stopping points will be sent to the booked participants after full payment.

Please read the notes and if you decide to apply for a place in the retreat use the Booking Application here. Email it to bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com using the subject “Colours of Thailand” after the 10th February.

You will meet some incredible people who will make your trip a memory to keep … they will become family

See you soon in Thailand.

Betty x

GROWING JAPANESE INDIGO IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE SHARING GROUP

Spring is not far and with it the farmers will start planting seeds and planning their dye plants spaces. As everyyear I will set up The Indigo Plot in the grounds of the Glasgow Botanics in Glasgow. This year is probably the last year I will grow there. Farming for dyes is time consuming and I have now been growing for 5 years. I would like my time back to concentrate on other eco projects I have at heart.

For one last time I am offering this sharing group to those who are interested to start growing but don’t yet have the confidence to do so on their own.

In this growing group we will meet up around once a month to share notes about growing wherever we are. If you live in the UK I can send you 50 seeds of Japanese Indigo which will grow in compost or in your garden (ground or pots)

Please note:

  • All sessions will be fixed in advance and happen on zoom, recorded for display, I will share my experience but this is not a teaching group so I will not answer personal messages by emails or messengers.
  • All communications will be done in the FB group (private) so be prepared to use FB if you want. No exceptions.
  • I am not able to send seeds overseas.
  • If you would like to join the dye sessions in the summer you will have to do so by clicking the button and buy a space i will not answer questions regarding dyeing outside the registered group.
  • It will be fun and very rewarding.
  • YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO WATER YOUR PLANTS IF YOU WANT SUCCESS.
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GROWING JAPANESE INDIGO IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE GROUP (UK BASED) (NO DYEING INVOLVED)

This is the booking form for the “Growing Japanese Indigo group” in the North of Europe. We will kick in the season in April 26 to grow Japanese Indigo. If you are booking with this button I will send you 50 Japanese Indigo seeds if you email me your postal address on bettysbeautifullife@gmail.com We will meet regularly on zoom to swap notes and You will be able to join in my FB group to interact with other growers. In June we will plant outdoors, in July August for an additional charge I will offer an online workshop about extracting Indigo and dyeing with fresh leaves. But you can decide to just use your own notes and only enjoy the growing group. If you live outside the UK you will have to source your own seeds please use the other button to book a space.

£15.00

GROWING JAPANESE INDIGO IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE GROUP OVERSEAS BASED (NO DYEING INVOLVED)

This is the booking form for the “Growing Japanese Indigo group” in the North of Europe. We will kick in the season in April 26 to grow Japanese Indigo. If you are booking with this button you will not receive any seeds and will be responsable to source yours. We will meet regularly on zoom to swap notes and You will be able to joi In June we will plant outdoors, in July August for an additional charge I will offer an online workshop about extracting Indigo and dyeing with fresh leaves. But you can decide to just use your own notes and only enjoy the growing group. If you live outside the UK you will have to source your own seeds please use the other button to book a space.

£10.00

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DYEING WITH JAPANESE INDIGO AND EXTRACTING PIGMENT (2 ONLINE CLASSES IN JULY AND AUGUST 2026

This online classes (two classes recorded in July and August 2026) are aimed at the Japanese Indigo growers from this page. The purpose of the classes is to learn to extract and use colour from the japanese Indigo plants grown in the summer of 2026. Both classes will be recorded and shared for two years in a webpage at no additional costs. There will be a support group on FB where you can exchange and ask questions. You must be prepared to use FB for your questions. No private email enquiries will be answered

£120.00

Botanical printing on paper 1

In this short video, I demonstrate how the shades obtained on my botanical prints are affected by the position of the ferrous sulphate in the bundle when steaming with a tannin blanket and a ferrous dip

For this I am using the Chiangmai studio kindly lent by https://www.instagram.com/crafterming

This method is part off my « Botanical printing on paper » book chapter 6. Please refer to this chapter for a « how to » description. This video does not replace the step by step instructions but more allows the learning to observe the technique.

You can purchase a copy of my book from Crowood press website.