Lecture: Color, Heritage, and the Handmade: A Journey in Natural Dyeing

‘Join SCTA Vice President and multidisciplinary artist Grey Lux for a color filled lecture exploring the artistry of natural dyeing, indigo, and slow hand-stitching. Rooted in Boricua-Taíno heritage, Grey will share how natural dyes like indigo, cochineal, weld, and madder bring history and meaning to cloth. The talk will highlight the beauty of indigo vats and shibori resist techniques, alongside reflections on hand-stitching and sashiko as meditative practices that connect us more deeply to our materials. Through images and examples of their work, Grey reveals how natural dyed textiles become living stories — carrying the touch of the maker, the depth of tradition, and the enduring value of the handmade.’

I had the honor to present my natural dye and Taino cultural reclamation work to the membership of the Sacramento Collective of the Textile Arts on January 17th. I’ve worked closely with SCTA on the backend since my election to board Vice President in September 2025, so it was a nice change to talk about my artistic work and share my experiments with the group.

The presentation led to an engaging conversation about natural dye, eco practices, and the history of the Taino people. We talked about current reclamation work culture keepers are performing to bring back our language and history, and how I use our iconography and stories in my work.