Program Description: Students investigate how South Carolinian’s used their natural, human, and political resources uniquely to gain economic prosperity, including settlement by and trade with the people of Barbados, rice and indigo planting, and the practice of mercantilism.
Arts Area(s) of Focus: Visual Arts—Textiles :STEAM (SCIENCE/math, Social studies, ART)
Brief Summary of Experience Plan: Kristy provides hands-on lessons related to the history of indigo production on SC Plantations, mercantilism, cash crops, rice culture, as well as the roll of African Slaves, and class systems. Using an indigo vat of dyes students will experience reduction and oxidation by creating various textile decoration techniques such as resist, tye-dye (Adire) related to African Culture, current and past fashion and decorating. Students create individual artworks utilizing pattern and personal symbolism related to African textiles.
Program Description: Kristy Bishop introduces students to the fascinating world of textile art. Through exploration of natural materials, the history of natural dyes, and specifically Indigo in SC, historical significance of native plants, and experimentation with a variety of techniques and materials, students get a wonderful hands-on Experience with science and social studies content.
Sample Experiences:
Grade 2
Social Studies—Learn about and experiment with different natural resources that have been used around the world to dye clothing and fiber. The dyes can be used as a reference point of their country of origin. For example, Madder root is derived from Turkey, Cochineal is from Mexico and Central America, Weld—Europe, Indigo—India, Japan and many, many more. This is a visual way to identify regions of the world, their cultural significance, and impact on trade, using plant dyes as a reference point.
Science—Students will ask questions about the natural world using plant dyes as a source for these questions. They will test predictions and record their results on recipe cards in order to show repeatable findings.
They will observe what tools and substances they are using to perform these experiments such as types of fabric, dyes, mordants, after baths. By recording their findings, students will notice patterns and trends in how color is affected or altered based the multiple variables they used in their dyeing process.
Grade 3
Social Studies—Students will dye and create patterns with the historically significant plant indigo. This will be a jumping off point into South Carolina’s climate and why indigo grew well here, it’s golden age of exportation because of England’s demand and political relationship with the Carolina’s, and the number one fact that indigo was only a successful cash crop here because of the enslaved African labor and knowledge.
Science: Students will ask questions about the natural world using plant dyes as a source for these questions. They will test predictions and record their results on recipe cards in order to show repeatable findings. They will observe what tools and substances they are using to perform these experiments such as types of fabric, dyes, mordants, after baths. By recording their findings, students will notice patterns and trends in how color is affected or altered based the multiple variables they used in their dyeing process.
They will be able to identify the variable and controls, whether their predictions were accurate or not, and acknowledge the final outcome of their dye experiment.
Grade 4-8
Social Studies— Lesson 1: Students will learn about dyes that were and are still traded worldwide such as indigo, madder root, weld, and cochineal. They will experiment with each of these dyes to understand how color is extracted from natural resources and see for themselves the brilliance of color that has engaged human civilization for centuries.
Lesson 2: Students will learn about and experiment with dyes that Native Americans would have used to dye leather, tapestries, and other fiber. Such dyes will be ones native to the Americas such as osage orange, walnut hulls, acorns, pecans, goldenrod, cochineal, and more.
Science— This Experience uses plant dyes as a basis for scientific, analytical thinking, organization involving variables and controls, and thought out decision making.
Students will ask questions about the natural world using plant dyes as a source for these questions. They will test predictions and record their results on recipe cards in order to show repeatable findings.
They will observe what tools and substances they are using to perform these experiments such as types of fabric, dyes, mordants, after baths. By recording their findings, students will notice patterns and trends in how color is affected or altered based the multiple variables they used in their dyeing process.
They will be able to identify the variable and controls, whether their predictions were accurate or not, and acknowledge the final outcome of their dye experiment.
There will also be an emphasis on solutions, mixtures, suspension in liquid, acids, bases, oxygen and its role in indigo as an example of it one it’s many relationships with other molecules that make up a substance. Grades at the middle school level will go in more depth about what is happening at a molecular level with indigo, oxygen, antioxidants, bases, and acids.
