Weaving and Natural Dyes with Alana Nydorf

Week of August 8, 2026

Weaving and Natural Dyes.  Learn to weave a small textile from recycled materials naturally dyed with ingredients sourced from the Ranch.

Weaving is one of the oldest art forms in existence. The ancient process of interlacing two threads— warp and weft— has revolutionized society. In this class, you will learn to weave with recycled materials, dyed with natural fruits and vegetables from the Tres Estrellas farm and clays sourced from the foothills of Mount Kuchumaa. At the end of the week, you will bring the Ranch home in the form of a coaster or small altar cloth.

Session 1 – Introduction to natural dyes, textile planning, and choosing materials. The fabrics we will be using are all recycled textiles from the Ranch that have been dyed onsite.

Session 2 – Learn the foundations of weaving: plain weave. Begin to plain weave strips of naturally dyed recycled fabric (the weft) through the loom’s warp to create the body of your textile.

Session 3 – Continue weaving the textiles, adding rows of weft into the warp to build the structure of your cloth.

Session 4 – Finish weaving textiles, removing the work from the loom, and tying up the loose ends.

 

Alana Weiss Nydorf is a third generation artist and longtime proponent for sustainability in the arts. Her textiles have been exhibited at Parsons School of Design, The New School, Columbia University, O’Flaherty’s gallery, and the Transborder Artist Residency on Governor’s Island. She has been awarded grants and fellowships by the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Waseda University, the University of Michigan, Parsons School of Design, and the Polish Ministry of Culture. Projects Alana has worked on have been shown at many institutions including Cranbrook Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Queens Museum, SculptureCenter, ChaShaMa, and the Museum of Arts and Design.

https://weissnydorf.com