The advanced art classes will be fabric dyeing starting on Monday. Students will tie dye cloth using a traditional Japanese style called Shibori.  

“We received Boylan Foundation funding for a dyeing project,” art teacher Rebecca Harrison said. “Shibori style tie dye is very different from American style tie dye. It gives us an opportunity to tie in art history, culture, and hands on art that kids can use to make cool things with.” 

This will be the first year students are tie dyeing cloth. This is a multistep process that produces a traditional form of tie dye using only one color.  

“The process we are going to use, students are responsible for choosing a pattern and folding and binding their fabric according to the pattern they want to achieve,” Harrison said. “They’ll then choose a color, a hue, and that hue will get its own dye bath and they will put their fabric into the dye bath.”

The students will be working independently over the next couple days until its due date on Thursday. This allows artists to develop their own ideas, as well as learn about the history behind Shibori tie dye. 

“A lot of students are very familiar with tie dye, and it is coming back into popularity in American culture,” Harrison said. “I’m excited for the students to see what they can accomplish with just one color. We are very familiar with all the different types of colors in American tie dye, but this will be different and more traditional, and hopefully very interesting.” 

Students can pick any hue to dye their fabric. After dyeing, the students will set the cloth in a dye bath to set and intensify the color. 

“Students are responsible for deciding the amount of time the fabric is in the dye bath,” Harrison said. “If they leave it in there for just a small amount of time, it gets a little bit of color. A long time it gets a more intense color. They will move it instantly into the color-stay bath for that hue. This will help set the color in the fabric. This will be a one week process.” 

This project allows students freedom to choose unique designs and patterns. After the fabric is set and machine washed, the students can take home the cloth. 

“I am most looking forward to getting to express my creativity and expanding my skills that I haven’t explored before,” sophomore Bethany Garcia said. “My favorite part of this class is meeting new friends and overall being able to express myself freely this year.”