Pigment Extraction: Plant & Bacterial Dyes

Unlock the science of color in this hands-on lab workshop that blends biology, chemistry, sustainability, and creativity. Whether you're a science enthusiast, designer, educator, or artist, this class will show you how natural pigments from plants and microbes can power the future of sustainable dyes and bio-based art materials.

In this workshop, you'll explore how biological systems produce color, and learn how to extract and apply these pigments using beginner-friendly techniques. 

These methods are exciting to researchers and artists alike because microbial pigments offer scalable, renewable alternatives to plant or petroleum-based dyes, while plant pigments provide historical and ecological context for contemporary biofabrication.

In this workshop, you will:

• Examine onion cells under a microscope to see where plant pigments are located within cells.
• Extract natural pigment from onion skins using boiling, filtering, and lake pigment methods.
• Learn how plants make color by reviewing the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway.
• Observe colorful bacteria like bioindigo pigment-producing E. coli and red pigment-producing Serratia marcescens  under the microscope. 
• Dye fabric in live bacterial cultures safely.
• Lyse bacteria to extract pigment and learn to filter and dry it into a usable form.

We’ll discuss the applications of extracted pigments to artistic uses such as watercolor paints, dye baths, and screen printing. And we’ll close by comparing the sustainability, cost, scalability, and creative potential of plant-based versus microbial pigment extraction, giving participants a deeper understanding of how biology can serve as both a laboratory and a palette.

Serena Wessely is the Lab Manager at Genspace, the world’s first community biology lab. With a background in biochemistry, she holds a B.S. and M.Sc. from Johns Hopkins University. Her research there focused on CRISPR knock-out techniques to study the biosynthetic pathway of Dynemicin A.

At Genspace, she oversees lab operations and the membership program. She manages equipment, develops experimental protocols, and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration. She also provides scientific support across Genspace’s programs, including community-led research, artist residencies, workforce development, and classes.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Genspace NYC