Last weekend we caught the 4 day pop-up show that celebrated the work of recent and former graduates of Jenny Dean’s popular 6-month natural dyeing course. Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft’s collection is rich with natural dyeing and textile craft. The likes of Ethel Mairet, Valentine Kilbride, Hilary Bourne and Barbara Allen all helped revive interest around natural dyeing in the 20th century, and Jenny Dean’s Natural Dyeing course has built on and updated that expertise for the 21st century.
This was the last year Jenny will be teaching the course and it will now be delivered by Jacqui Simmons. After years of assisting Jenny, Ross will continue to deliver the contact printing aspect of the course. The variety and range of the work on show was wonderful and it was a true celebration of the work of the students and tutors but also of the range and variety of colours one can produce.
Text © Ditching Museum and Jonathan Dredge, images © Jonathan Dredge.
Modern Eccentrics 