Indigo Dying with Middle School Teens

World history, American history, geography, chemistry, social studies, music and visual art combined! For the past three years, the indigo vat has been set up in the Oakville Middle School art studio classroom for the 8th grade Art 2 students' study of the history of indigo and slavery.

Student allowing indigo to drip in pan after in dying in vat (bottom of photo)

Dying fiber in indigo is magical! Students were once again amazed as their projects emerged a deep lime green from the vat, but transformed into deep shades of blue before their eyes as the oxygen from the air they breathed attached to the oxygen starved dye.

Bundles oxidizing on the drip rack

Before dying, students had to create a design for their projects by applying a variety of Elements and Principles of Design, such as : movement, line, pattern, rhythm, shape, value, contrast, and emphasis.  

By implementing clamp, tie and stitch resist techniques, the fifty-seven students dyed their T-shirts or pillowcases over three to four class periods. 

While they waited for their turn to dye, they listened to various musical artists from Africa

 and researched the history of indigo and the slave trade. 

For more information about this research project

 see the April 24, 2011 post.

After dying their projects multiple times to achieve the value and intensity of blue they desired (with the understanding that dry fiber is considerably lighter in value than wet), 

they began to untie and wash their bundles.

After removing all clamps, tying and stitching, the students helped each other wash any residual dye from the fiber. 

The students were thrilled with the results!

 

After the projects were washed by the students, I gave them a good wash in my machine at home and brought them back the next day for the students to complete their written assessments.

While the indigo vat was "up and running," many of the thirty-seven OMS Art Club students, who do not have a regular art classes because of band or special education classes, also took advantage of the opportunity to dye their own shirts and socks during their regularly scheduled two hour meeting 

every other Wednesday after school.  

Admittedly, in a middle school culture of sports logos and Hello Kitty, it gives me great pleasure to see glimpses of indigo scurrying down the halls between classes.

Hobo Bags and Indigo Cloth

After researching various hogo bag designs online, two of my 8th grade Art 2 students at Oakville Middle School created their own bags as an additional after-school project.

First, they cut paper patterns before cutting pattern pieces from indigo dyed pillow cases and recycled fabric. They sewed both lined and hidden pockets, either inside the seams or the lining, for their cell phones, keys, etc. Finally, they made cloth straps to fit across their bodies. The girls had only a little experience sewing, but completed their bags in about four hours total (after the cloth was dyed) by sharing my portable sewing maching in the OMS art studio classroom. I think I enjoyed the process and time shared during this project as much as the girls!

From Big Hair to Book Binding - The 80's Recycled

A few years ago, my dear friend Nancy H. decided it was finally time to clean out her storage unit, save what was important, and recycle or dispose of the rest.  Fortunately for me, she brought bags and bags of 80's clothing and memories to my kitchen to cull through, savor and discuss.  The catalyst for the project was the loss of 75 pounds and a new wardrobe.  While we laughed at the big shoulder pads, rhinestones and peg leg jeans, we also saved all of the cotton, denim and linen for papermaking and indigo dyeing, plus the silk and leather for book binding. 

The Old Brown Cow and Other Moosings (spine and back detail)

The jeans made wonderful paper.  A brightly colored silk blouse was deconstructed and pasted onto kozo for the inside cover of a book of poems written by Nancy M.; and the short leather jacket with the big shoulder pads and zip-off sleeves became the spine hinge for "The Old Brown Cow and Other Moosings." The book was bound with a long-stitch technique and trimmed with a small band of indigo dyed cotton inserted between the leather and the recycled cattle chow covers.  Thanks, Nancy.