Summer Camp at the Stevie: Natural Dye with Berbo Studio

Summer Camp at the Stevie

Join us this July for Summer Camp at the Stevie, a hands-on art making series situated in a lush oasis in the middle of Culver City. Across four weekends, adults and teens are invited to slow down and reconnect with the natural world through workshops led by renowned local artists. Workshops will include watercolor, incense making, weaving with foraged materials, and natural dyeing. Together, we will cultivate a sense of awe for the quiet power and beauty of plants.

Whether you're channeling your inner artist or just looking for a mindful escape, each session offers a nod to summer camp nostalgia. Each weekend features two different sessions. Participants may register for one or both, except for the incense-making workshop, which is a two-day experience and requires attendance on both days.

What is the Stevie?

Tucked away on the southwestern side of the Glorya Kaufman Community Center, the Stevie is a "tiny house" turned creative outpost. Surrounded by palms and desert landscaping, it serves as both an artist residency space and an intimate venue for programs, gatherings, and experimental events on its expansive outdoor deck. The Stevie was made possible by a transformative contribution from Steve and Jadwiga Markoff.

Natural Dye with Berbo Studio

July 26 & 27, 10:30 a.m.—1 p.m.

Join us for a natural dye workshop and guided plant walk in Culver City with Erin Berkowitz of Berbo Studio, where you’ll explore local ecology, learn to responsibly harvest dye plants, and create unique eco-prints using colors from the La Ballona region—blending science, story, and art in a hands-on experience with your local plant-loving community.

Day 1: Botanical Printing & Exploration

Explore the color-potent plants growing around us and learn to create lasting botanical prints reflecting their unique shapes and (sometimes surprising) natural colors. In this workshop, we’ll collect flowers and leaves from ubiquitous plants found throughout Southern California—including on a brief local plant walk, if time and weather allow—and discuss ecology, dye science, natural history, and how our practices as natural dyers and wild-crafters interact with the ecosystems and communities where we live. Each participant will create their own botanically printed cotton bandana, and will leave with knowledge of this unique process and local dye plants to continue their journey exploring natural color.

Day 2: Natural Dyeing Immersion

Before the introduction of synthetic dyes and pigments in the mid-19th century, all the colors we wore and created with were sourced from nature. Today, we can return to this timeless craft as a way of meaningfully interacting with the land around us, learning to tune into seasonality, ecology, history, and our roles therein. Working with introduced (non-native) plants and garden-grown natural dyes, together we’ll brew pots of dye to produce a spectrum of natural color, which we’ll utilize to create geometric patterns on fabric with shibori and resist-dyeing techniques. Each participant will create their own naturally dyed cotton bandana, and will leave with knowledge and inspiration to continue experimenting and creating with natural dyes.

Also check out other Workshops in Culver City, Arts events in Culver City.