This summer, the Sustainable Colour Lab is launching an exciting new collaborative project with Shannon Gerard of Plant Parenthood to grow flax, generously funded by the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario via Gerard’s successful application! 

The directors of the lab will be helping with the planting, care, harvesting, and processing of the flax to create linen and flax seed oil for the lab. We look forward to involving students and participants in our Sustainable Colour Lab 2025 Summer Institute. The aim of this flax trial is to spin cordage for linen and mix oil-paint pigments with OCAD students at the Sustainable Colour Lab, while also co-learning with students at UofT Scarborough. I’m particularly interested in the EFAO’s approach to Farmer-Led Research, which offers valuable guidance in designing a meaningful trial. 

Questions we are asking: Will four varieties of flax be enough to determine the best option for both fibre and oil production? What characteristics will define “best”—longest fibres, strongest fibres? Does the quantity and size of seeds alone determine the oil’s suitability for paint pigments? What key question are we trying to answer for the farm? Which flax variety is optimal for fibre production and which for oil production? How much fibre and oil can be harvested from 400 square feet?  What are the potential markets for fibre, oil, and dye plants on a larger scale?

Flax Plant (Linum Species): Flowering Stem. Watercolour. 1 painting : watercolour. Wellcome Collection, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.36642877.

ALUMNI version:
We are pleased to announce: OCADU Sustainable Colour Lab Summer Institute
2025 Application.

The First Annual Sustainable Colour Lab Summer Institute 

Dates: May 20 – June 13, 2025 

Location: 100 McCaul Street, room 466

The OCADU Sustainable Colour Lab is an interdisciplinary space and community for artists
and designers to conduct and disseminate sustainable material colour research. The SCL
offers a space to investigate the sourcing and production of plant and earth-based material
colour more deeply and share outcomes within a community of artists, designers,
students and scholars. The lab facilities currently include “analog” equipment such as
plates and mullers, mortar/pestles, encaustic electrics, sinks, fridge, stovetops.
Additionally, for the duration of the residency participants will have access to a separate
workspace for art/design creation.

Disclaimer: The SCL is an active studio research space. As such it contains various tools
and substances (heating elements, powdered pigments) that may pose a risk to personal
safety. It is the responsibility of participants to be aware of and to take appropriate
precautions in protecting themselves via preferred PPE and to use best practices and
precautions while using the space. An orientation session will be held to introduce best
practices and health and safety standards expected from participants in the lab.
Participants will be expected to complete OCADU WHIMIS training on the first day.

Please create a PDF that includes your responses to the following and email to:

sustainablecolourlab@ocadu.ca

1. Your Full Name

2. Which role best describes you at OCADU? 

a. Faculty

b. Staff

c. TA 

d. Graduate Student

e. Undergraduate Student 

f. Alumni 

g. Other:

3. Phone Number

4. Email

5. Please provide a brief biography that highlights your creative practice, influences,
and any relevant experience. We invite you to share insights into your work, the
medium(s) you use, and what inspires you. We value each unique perspective and
lived experience and encourage you to reflect on your personal narrative in a way
that resonates with your work.

6. Briefly describe your current practice and your interest in a sustainable approach to
making.

7. Please Include 3-5 images in a PDF, maximum 10MB

8. How would you use the lab facilities to further your research and production? What
processes and practices would you be interested in undertaking?

9. What outcome(s) do you hope to realize during this residency? List 3-5 tangible
outcomes (i.e. work you want to make, processes you want to explore, etc.)=

10. Please identify any accessibility needs you may require for completing your work:

11. Website/Social Media

12. CV, if applicable

Note: If you have an active OCADU email you can use the link to the application: https://forms.office.com/r/sf6QA4gbv9

OCADU SUSTAINABLE COLOUR LAB
SUMMER INSTITUTE 2025
May 20 - June 13, 2025
Applications are now being accepted until April 14th. This unique program is open to all members of the OCADU community, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to explore sustainable colour practices and deepen your creative practice.

Link to application:

https://forms.office.com/r/sf6QA4gbv9

Note: if you do not have an OCADU email, please see other posts made for alumni and follow the instructions

Lauchlan Reid started off 2025 with a three-part series, A Painting as a Composite Material! This week, we learned all about Oil Paint and Mediums.

Lauchlan Reid started off 2025 with a three-part series, A Painting as a Composite Material! This week, we learned all about Supports, Substrates, and Grounds.

Guest artist Lauren Nurse (from Sheridan College) hosted an engaging workshop on making goat milk soap with ground black walnut husks for a natural exfoliating boost!

Lauren Nurse runs an amazing farm called Small Spade Farm.

“Established in 2011 when Lauren and Eric relocated from Toronto to establish a life in Hastings County. Lauren is an accomplished horticulturist, visual artist and farmer. Eric is a woodworker and builder of fine things. Together they grow regionally adapted heirloom crops using organic principles that produce nutrient dense healthy food. The farm is also home to a herd of very spoiled Dwarf Nigerian dairy goats and a flock of (also spoiled) heritage breed laying hens.

As a closed-loop, regenerative farm, our focus is on minimizing off-farm resource extraction - we fertilize our crops and manage our soil by applying compost made from our livestock manure and vegetable scraps. We are no-till, and do our absolute best to minimize soil disruption, encourage fungal and microbial life and provide habitat for pollinators, beneficial insects and diverse communities of indigenous plant species”

For more information please visit the website: https://www.smallspade.com/

Assistant Professor Julia Rose Sutherland led a land-based workshop centred on the black walnuts in Tkaronto!

Her workshop explored the ethical harvesting of black walnuts, how to process the nuts into liquid dye, and how to safely use mordant and soy-based binders. She also gave a brief introduction to wax-resist dyeing and shibori techniques.

We were invited to a lovely conversation between Nicole Collins and Anong Beam and celebrated of the Sustainable Colour Lab at OCAD University as part of our fall speaker series.