Science + Art Day

On April 6th I joined a group of artists at ES who were setting up demonstrations for freshmen in the Cornerstones program. The students are currently enrolled in their final seminar centered around the intersection of science and art, a favorite topic of mine which I learned about in their shoes three years ago! I talked to students about my own project, the process of natural dyeing, and weaving.

Visions of Nature table set up for weaving and dyeing

For my table, I had images of my Visions of Nature dress I sewed and dyed using forsythia, daffodils, and blackberries. Inspired by the vibrant colors of spring, I wanted to display the beauty of native plants in order to promote the concept of biodiversity (though daffodils aren't native, I can't recall why I used them). I also had images and examples of some of the cardboard weavings I made out of dyed wool.

Additionally, I was doing a live demonstration of dye making using forsythia, a native flowing bush that makes a rich yellow dye. It happens to be my favorite because of the color and smell as well. Several students had the same interest in colors of the native landscape as I did and were thinking about doing similar processes involving plant dyes. Feliecia was kind enough to help me set up and take my wool out the next day! Three years ago I came back to ES to learn from Feliecia and now I can do it by myself (with some inquiries on advice from Feliecia of course!).

Forsythia simmering in the dye pot

Some students were brave enough to test out my frame loom with the recycled t-shirt yarn. I am hoping that if I bring it next time some students will want to keep adding to it! It would liven up the house to have a collaborative eclectic wall hanging around.

Frame loom weaving in progress