This is what happened during our Colour Alchimia workshop held in Bogota, Colombia in the creative space called Locus, located in Quinta Camacho, an eclectic area in the city.
I had an amazing group of Architects and an Industrial Engineer with a passion for illustration. Have a look!
Colour Alchimia is an experimental workshop which explores the alchemy of colour from the physical, historical and narrative point of view, with a contemporary application.
The aim of this workshop is to reconnect with matter, being that colour is a physical material, with textures, smell, and taste.
I had the chance to explain about the history of colours, the evolution of the chromatic system from Prehistory, Antiquity, Middle Ages and the Renaissance up to now. Participants learned about the history of 8 ancient colours and alchemic techniques.
Also, I talked about the importance of colour craft and the processes for extracting colour such as pulverisation, corrosion, pyrotechnology; and the concept of reviving ancient colours, which have played an important role in humanity.
Historically, colour was developed in an kind of alchemic way, it was discovered by accident mixing basic science, craft and simple technology. It was the alchemist and artists' unique abilities to extract colour from raw materials.
In the workshop participants learned how to extract coloured pigments from natural raw materials such as saffron, ochres, eggshells and minerals. We applied basic alchemic procedures to extract bespoke colours.
Nowadays, more people are looking to connect with natural materials and work with their hands in order to stimulate the brain for wellbeing.
Participants learned a creative and experimental process, which may applied easily to their practice. The result was a collection of beautiful material and colour samples, with a potential use in interior design, exteriors, illustration, tile design, textile design, you name it!
Photos: Natalia Carrasco, @naticafotografia
