Secret Red: At the Heart of Safflower
An online class with With Joumana Medlej
On Thursday 21st May 2026 4-6pm BST
Recording of the live session will be until the 22nd August 2026
Learn about nature’s most astonishing pinks and reds, hidden at the heart of a thistle. Safflower reds have been described as “the finest, most beautiful and most delicate colours a dyer could achieve” – but they have to be earned, through a laborious and complex extraction process. This workshop will introduce this fascinating plant colour and its use in different cultures before demonstrating the extraction step-by-step, from petals to pigment. With historical and recent examples at hand, you’ll learn how to dose the extraction correctly (and what happens if you don’t), how the dye behaves on cellulose vs. protein fibre, how it changes again when laked, and how to store it.
A PDF handout is included.
About Joumana Medlej
Joumana Medlej is an artist-scholar from Lebanon, working at the intersection of creation and research. After an early career in design, she’s spent two decades studying and reconstructing the forgotten scripts of early Arabic calligraphy, which are now a hallmark of her art practice. She’s also known for making her own art materials based on historical methods and local foraging. Joumana’s written two handbooks on art technology and now draws on her maker’s experience to translate medieval Arabic inkmaking treatises into English, bringing the voices of past masters to a general audience.Anna works and lives in Westcliff-on-Sea, UK