About the Workshop:

Learn to make and use paints and dyes using natural materials that have been traditionally gathered by hand from the local whenua (land). In this workshop, your tutor, Jera Mae will teach about Mātauranga, the Maori and Polynesian body of knowledge of interconnectedness and interrelationships of all living and non-living things in order to maintain and restore our environment.

Jera Mae’s goal is to spread awareness on climate justice by sustaining and teaching others indigenous methodologies that have always sustained Papatūānuku (mother earth) and continue to do so as she applies indigenous methodologies to fit today's society. This workshop will be introduced in the framework of tikanga which incorporates practices and values from Maori culture with an emphasis on female empowerment & sustainability.

In this 4 hour workshop, you will learn to create paints and dyes from the whenua, make your own artworks on handmade paper and experiment with handmade dye using a variety of natural fibres. Jera will also share her own body of works from her clothing label Jera Mae to show how indigenous methodologies can be brought into contemporary fashion to create a sustainable brand.

About the Artist:

Founder of her label Jera Mae, Jera Mae-Smith Stanley is a graduate of the Creative Industries degree at Toiohomai Institute of Technology, majoring in Fashion. Jera is practicing to be sustainable and ethical in her designs and all facets of life. She is passionate about challenging western civilisation ideals that are fabricated throughout our society while demanding gender, environmental and racial justice.less