Pigment Extraction Workshop in Manila

I went to a market in Manila for anthotype ingredients, and came back with the most unexpected colour palette.

In Manila I ran a few workshops, including one about natural pigments. This trip came together last minute, and I’m so genuinely grateful to the people who helped make these workshops happen so smoothly. 

Running this workshop at Cafe Siriusdan felt perfect. The space is exactly what I wish more learning environments could be: a local community hub that’s welcoming, colourful, and full of character. It’s cinematic and homey and it carries so much of Siriusdan’s design language: patterns, textiles, objects, and references to indigenous symbology woven into the environment.

I normally teach pigment extraction workshops with 6–8 people, so having 25 participants was a big jump for me, especially while being seriously jet-lagged. But honestly? It never became overwhelming. The energy in the room was so kind, curious, and attentive that it felt like we were doing this together, rather than me teaching. 

A market run turned colour laboratory

We started the way I love to start: by going to the fresh produce market and letting the ingredients shape the palette. I watched Siriusdan chatting with vendors while we picked out fresh produce and botanicals, and we came back with a table full of potential colour.

From the market we gathered:

Red dragonfruit

Komote tops (sweet potato leaves)

Malunggay (moringa)

Atsuete (annatto)

And I also brought a few reliable favourites that are fantastic for experimentation and pH shifts: turmeric, red cabbage, spirulina.

After a short introduction to anthotypes and plant-based pigments, we moved straight into extraction. Because we didn’t have time for sunlight exposure during the session, we used the pigments primarily for recording a shared colour library, plus painting guided by local artist Brisa Amir.

From the market

Komote tops (sweet potato leaves)

This one really delivered: a deep olive green with a slightly smoky grey undertone. It felt earthy and complex, not a “bright green,” but something closer to foliage, shadow, and mineral tones.

Malunggay / Moringa

A green very different from spirulina: less saturated, more botanical and natural. Softer, quieter, and more “leaf-real”.

Atsuete powder (annatto)

This was the one disappointment, and I had high hopes. Atsuete is used as a natural food colouring, so I expected a rich warm red/orange. Instead, extracted in alcohol, it gave a pale yellow. My guess is that it may extract better with oil rather than ethanol? something I’d love to test more intentionally.

Participant ingredients

People brought ingredients from home, and we extracted and recorded as much as we could, which made the day feel like building a collective archive.

Pumpkin powder

A soft, gentle yellow, much more muted than turmeric. Less loud, more creamy and natural.

Red passion flower

A surprise hit: a dark, saturated purple, velvety and intense.

Watermelon juice

A light blush pink, delicate and watery with natural variation.

We also experimented with: overripe cherries, star anise, blue ternate, aglaonema, and a mystery red flower from someone’s mother’s garden (always the best kind of ingredient).

I left Manila feeling deeply grateful, days like this remind me that these processes are something you learn by doing, together, again and again. People experimented freely, and the tables filled with paintings, swatches, and tests.