Explorations in Art Cloth with my Students

Since my trip to Arrowmont I have been exploring dyeing, printing, stamping, and art cloth in my own work.

This has been so much fun that I knew I had to add this type of work to my classroom curriculum.

Through the help of DonorsChoose I was able to get a Thermofax machine and hoops so I could introduce printing and embroidery to my students.

I started with printing on blank muslin with thickened dyes in a screen-printing class at Lillstreet Art Center.

Each of my students wrote a positive word on a piece of paper that I made into a screen.

Then printed the image on several yards of fabric.

This was then cut up into rectangles so students could first stamp and mark make on their cloth.

 We used stamps and objects, such as bubble wrap and bottle caps, to create patterns

Next, I introduced printing with the thermofax screens.

These are small simple to use, manage, and clean screens that are

easier to work with in a classroom than tradition screens.

Students created a third layer using the screens

Next, I introduced embroidery and stitch to add the final layer to their art cloth

 Students got quit creative with their stitch work

 Every student was engaged in the process

 They enjoyed the meditative quality of working with stitch

Final pieces were beautiful and students had wonderful things to say

about the whole experience while gaining a new appreciation for fiber arts

I look forward to teaching this unit again and expanding it in the future