During both my first year as a
teacher and a graduate student, my personal aesthetic has transformed and
changed along with my knowledge about teaching.
The personal experiences of my life have influenced my desire to create
art and the style in which to make it. I
have had a growing interest in using natural dyes within my fiber
art-making. Though I have used natural
dyes a few times before, I have never really delved into a large research and
product relationship. I propose that I
will first experiment with these materials on my own, and then create a lesson
in which my students can try out this artform.
My final product will be in the form of
quilted square, which will be dyed using all natural materials. My student lesson will require the same, but
at the end of the project, all of the squares will be stitched together to
create one collaborative class quilt.
I am interested in
using these natural, sustainably produced products to color fabrics that will
eventually become this quilt, with each patch or piece created by a different
student. I have never created a quilt
before, but in my personal artwork, I create abstract works using geometric
shapes to explore the relationship between man and nature (machine sewn v. hand
sewn, naturally dyed v. eco-dyed, geometric v. organic shapes, earth tones v.
bright hues). I believe that researching
more about naturally dyeing fabrics will help to influence my artwork for many
years to come. Experimenting and learning
about both this material and about quilt-making will help me to grow as an
artist and as a teacher because, as we have learned, the notion of play and
experimentation is vital to personal growth as an artist. This new kind of media will inspire my students
to think big about their artwork and realize that not only traditional methods
of artmaking are the only ones that are accepted.
Resources:
Dyes from Kitchen Produce
Eco-Colour-India Flint
A few examples of recent and in-progress work:
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