Indigo Dye Workshop with Astrid Hilger Bennett

Indigo Dye Workshop with Astrid Hilger Bennett

10/17/2026, 10am-noon OR 1-3pm

Have you ever wondered how the green leaves of the indigo plant turn into a rich, deep blue dye used in everything from blue jeans to traditional Japanese shibori? This is your opportunity not only to see the process first-hand, but to try it out for yourself. Fiber artist Astrid Hilger Bennett will lead two workshops at the CRMA on Saturday, October 17, 2026; you can choose the 10am or 1pm session. Your $35 registration fee covers all your materials to create several hand-dyed indigo textile pieces that are displayable or even functional. Sign up by contacting the CRMA’s Education Director Erin Thomas at ethomas@crma.org or 319-366-7503. Deadline to sign up is October 9th. Space is limited so sign up early!

 Astrid Hilger Bennett was trained as a printmaker and has worked with textiles since 1975, creating award-winning pieces exhibited internationally.  From new or upcycled fabrics, she also creates functional items suitable for the kitchen or shared experiences centered on food. She has decades of experience working with fiber reactive dyes, and more recently, natural dyes, using them for mark making, painting, screen printing, monoprinting, and immersion dyeing. You can view her solo exhibition, Making A Mark: The Art of Astrid Hilger Bennett (on view 9/12/2026 through 1/3/2027), at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.