Meet Your Maker: Monica Wilson of Solidago Grow
Ten years ago Monica Wilson moved from Seattle to Vashon Island to have a closer connection with nature and be able to grow a bigger garden. She was quickly drawn to natural dyeing because of its intersection of plants and textiles, which were already big interests in her life. Now Monica is a mixed media artist whose work combines botanicals, textiles, nature and craft.
From Green Plant to Sea Blue
The first dye plant Monica grew was indigo. Indigo is a green, leafy unassuming plant, but can be used straight from the garden to create beautiful teal blues. Other dye flowers can be pounded onto cloth creating colorful prints. Being able to create color on cloth with plants and flowers she grew proved magical.That element of surprise is part of what makes natural dyeing so compelling. You're not picking a color from a swatch book. You're working with living materials, and the results are never quite the same twice.
Monica grows many of her own dye plants on Vashon Island, where she lives with her husband, three kids and many animals.Her practice, Solidago Grow, is rooted in her curiosity and appreciation of the natural world.
The name itself tells you something about how she thinks. Solidago, commonly known as goldenrod, means "to make whole." Growth, encouragement, good fortune. That's the thread running through everything she does.
She's been teaching workshops on Vashon Island for years now, covering everything from indigo dyeing to bundle dyeing and flower pounding. If you've taken a natural dye class on the island, there's a good chance Monica was the one guiding you through it.
The Workshop: Bundle Dyeing a Silk Scarf
In this workshop, you'll use flowers, plants, heat, and water to create a vibrant silk scarf that's entirely your own. Monica preps the fabric ahead of time so you can focus on the fun part: choosing your botanicals, arranging them on silk, bundling it all up, and watching what happens when the dye releases.
She'll walk you through the full process, including how fiber prep works and how to get the best results at home. You'll leave with a finished silk scarf, a solid understanding of how bundle dyeing works, and a take-home instructional booklet so you can keep experimenting long after camp is over.
No experience needed. Just a willingness to get your hands a little stained.
Why This Workshop Belongs at Camp
There's something about natural dyeing that slows you down in exactly the right way. You're handling flowers. You're folding fabric. You're waiting for heat to do its work. And then you unwrap your bundle and discover something beautiful that you couldn't have predicted.
That's the whole point of Mischief & Makers Camp: making space for the kind of unhurried, hands-on creative work that most of us don't get enough of. Monica's workshop captures that perfectly.
Save Your Spot
Mischief & Makers Camp runs August 7 through 9 on Vashon Island. Monica's Bundle Dyeing workshop is one of several hands-on sessions over the weekend, alongside chef-prepared meals and all the slow-paced island time your overscheduled life has been missing.
Follow Monica's work on Instagram at @solidagogrow and at solidagogrow.com.