Workshop Retreat: Indigo Dyeing with Keisha Cameron

Hambidge
Rabun Gap, Georgia
July 23–26, 2026

In this immersive three-day workshop, participants will explore indigo through its many transformations, from plant to pigment to vat. Working across multiple processes, students will gain a layered understanding of how indigo shifts in form, behavior, and color over time.

Through guided demonstrations and hands-on practice, the workshop will begin with fresh leaf dyeing, focusing on how to coax vibrant color directly from recently harvested indigo. Participants will then move into small-scale pigment extraction, learning how indigo is processed, developed, and prepared for use. The final portion of the workshop will center on building and maintaining natural dye vats, with attention to reduction, oxidation, and the ongoing care required to sustain a living system.

Throughout the experience, indigo will be situated within broader contexts of agricultural practice, material science, and cultural lineage. Participants will engage with the rhythms and variables that shape the dye process, developing both technical skill and a deeper relationship to the material.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have created a range of dyed samples, gathered practical knowledge for working with indigo at home, and developed the confidence to continue exploring its rich and varied possibilities.

Our workshop retreats are an evolving series of immersive, retreat-style experiences that invite deep engagement with process, material, and place. The experience includes accommodations in our award-winning Antinori Village on our 600-acre campus, crafted meals, expert instruction in a creative medium, and serene time in the North Georgia Mountains.