Knowledge House–Resist Dyeing on Fabric
SCHOOL PROGRAM LESSON PLAN–7 to 9
Knowledge House–Resist Dyeing on Fabric
Final Project Description:
A flour sack tea towel decorated with a family recipe.
Description:
Much of Pam Hall’s artwork asks us to pay closer attention to our own small communities and the incredible amount of labour that goes into maintaining them. Largely conducted using knowledge that is not so much “taught” as it is “handed down,” the way that we conduct these tasks is specific to our own history. We learn from example, by watching the people around us. Or, at least we used to. In our highly modernized, industrialized, globalized world, many of these skills have been devalued and as a result are being lost, forgotten. This workshop, along with a pre-visit activity, asks students to develop an appreciation for the labour of homemaking by learning a family recipe, how to sew, and how to hand-dye fabric.
At the end of the exhibition tour, the art instructor will pay special attention to select Encyclopedia works (“On preparing moose for dinner,” “Notes on Partridgeberries,” “On potatoes in Plum Point,” and others that focus on local food or housekeeping knowledge). Back in the studios, students will create a flour sack tea towel that uses images and text to illustrate a family recipe.
NOTE: Teachers have been asked to prepare their class by having them each bring in a family recipe. If some (or all) of the students have neglected to do this, ask them to instead illustrate through text and image something that they have been taught about keeping a house (i.e. how to fold a fitted sheet; how to clean a cast-iron pan; how to get a stain out of the carpet, etc.).
Theory (taken from the BC Curriculum PLOs)
Students will:
· Analyse and apply unity as created by combining visual elements in a coherent way.
· Express ideas and information in a variety of situations and forms to recall and describe; narrate and explain; engage and entertain.
Workshop Duration: 90 minutes
In Gallery: 5 minutes after the tour for discussion
In Studio: 10 minutes for instructions, 20 minutes to hem the raw edges of their towels, 40 minutes to paint on their design, 5 minutes to spray the dye, 5 minutes to rinse the towels in the sink and lay out on the drying rack, 5 minutes for wrap up and discussion and look at other’s work.
Prep:
· Set up a demo station in the center of the room
· Set up each student’s station with the necessary materials for sewing (listed below)
· Set up a table at the back of the room with the necessary materials for dyeing (listed below)
· Draw a simple diagram of the hem stitch (at the end of this lesson plan) on the chalkboard
· Attach spray hose attachments to both sinks
Materials:
(At student’s stations)
Flour sack towels
Paper name tags & safety pins
Pencils
Sewing needles
Thread
(At table in back of room)
Scrap paper
Corn syrup-water painting mixture (2/3 corn syrup, 1/3 water)
Small paint cups
Paintbrushes
Masking tape
Packing tape
Stickers
Plastic boards
Spray bottles filled with fabric dye
Before students begin, make sure they write their name on the little tags! You will need to remind them to pin these on to the towels after they have washed out the dye and before putting them on the drying rack.
**Before the tour, ask the teacher if they were able to assign the pre-visit activity (students should have talked with their parents/guardians about family recipes and brought one with them). If they have not done this, you will need to adapt the discussion.
Discussion:
10:30 – 10:35
End the exhibition tour by looking at An Encyclopedia of Local Knowledge. Bring the student’s attention to select Encyclopedia works such as “On preparing moose for dinner,” “Notes on Partridgeberries,” “On potatoes in Plum Point,” and others that focus on local food or housekeeping knowledge.
a) If teachers HAVE assigned pre-visit activity, ask the students to discuss what they learned from speaking with their families about recipes. Does everyone have a recipe with them today?
b) If teachers HAVE NOT assigned the pre-visit activity, ask the students to discuss what they have learned about keeping a house. Do they have assigned chores at home? Is there a skill that they have learned that they are proud of (fixing the toaster / cooking a quiche / getting a stain out of wool)?
Explain to the children that they will now head back to the studio to illustrate their own skills / recipes on fabric.
Demonstration & Discussion:
10:35 – 10:45
1. Ask the students to begin by writing their name on the small bright tags at their stations
2. Bring their attention to the bit of cloth on the table: hold up an unhemmed towel for all to see. Give students a brief history of the flour sack towel:
Families used to purchase their household flour in sacks weighing 50 or 100 pounds. Once empty, the sack would be laundered and bleached, cut into smaller rectangles, hemmed and then put to many household uses as these were often the only towels available in the home. Explain that they are going to hem the raw edges on their towels, paint on a design using corn syrup, which will act as a resist, and then dye the fabric. Show them a completed towel.
3. Ask if anyone knows how to hand sew (show of hands). Those who know already can help those who do not. Bring attention to the illustrated hem stitch on the blackboard and then lead the students through the steps of threading their needles and sewing the raw edges.
Creation & Analysis:
10:45 – 11:05
1. Help the students as necessary with their hemming. Enlist the parent helpers and teacher to do so as well. Remind those who are struggling that sewing is a skill developed over time and that they should be delighted with themselves for doing so well.
2. While students are sewing, engage them in a discussion about home labour. What do they do themselves at home? Is the cooking and cleaning and laundering (etc) made a part of the family’s routine? Are these tasks divided among the members of the house or are some of these tasks hired out (cleaning lady, food delivery, laundry service, etc.)? Gauge your students to see if they would be interested in a discussion about “counted” labour (feminist economics – see linked articles in resources section at the end of this lesson).
11:00
3. Get student’s attention: demonstrate the next step.
4. Tape a hemmed tea towel to the plastic backboard and apply the resist with the wood end of the paintbrush. Explain that this mixture of corn syrup and water will repel the dye, keeping those areas coated in the resist white while the rest of the fabric absorbs the dye. Students should be careful to apply the resist in thin coats, rubbing it into the fabric so that it absorbs and doesn’t just bead up on the surface.
5. Students can also use packing tape and stickers as resists—encourage them to experiment. **Tape and sticker resists do allow a bit more colour bleed than the corn syrup, edges will less sharp.
6. Encourage students to make a very quick, rough sketch of their design on a piece of scrap paper before beginning on their towel.
7. Remind students that once applied, the resist is on their towel until they wash it off in the last step—there are no erasers for this, so all mistakes will have to be embraced.
11:05 – 11:45
8. Enlist the parent helpers and teacher to help you assist the students with getting set up with the next round of supplies. Each student needs a piece of scrap paper, a plastic back board, masking tape, a paintbrush and a small paint cup. You will distribute the dye as it is needed as it is VERY MESSY!
9. Assist students as necessary with applying the resist
11:35 – 11:45
10. Ten minute warning!
11:45 – 11:50
11. Enlist the parent helpers and teacher to assist you in handing out the gloves and spray bottles. Instruct the students to ONLY SPRAY THE TOWEL NOT EACH OTHER and to coat the entire towel.
12. Allow the dye a couple of minutes to absorb into the fabric—you’ll start to see the resist again as the dye soaks in.
11:50 – 11:55
13. Use both sinks: Instruct the children to take their plastic board over to the sink and rinse in warm and then cold water until water runs clear.
14. Take the towels off of the boards, ring out excess water and instruct the students to attach their name tags and lay out on drying rack.
Review:
11:55 – 12:00
How did the students find the process? Did they enjoy learning a family recipe? Will they think any differently about the work that goes into keeping a home?
***Teacher will need to return to pick up towels after they dry.***
Resources:
(pages 9-11)
Hemstitch diagram
Feminist Economics
http://aurora.icaap.org/talks/waring.htm
http://www.gdrc.org/informal/value-unpaidwork.pdf