Grades 9 and 10 Visual Arts Tie-Dye

With the beautiful warm weather and our classes coming to an end, the students and teachers are moving their classrooms outside whenever possible. We really enjoyed our end of year, outside art project!

I usually end the school year with a tie-dye project, and all ages enjoy taking part in this fun, artistic activity. Tie-dye is a term used to describe a number of resist dyeing techniques. The process consists of folding, twisting, pleating, or crumpling fabric before binding with string or rubber bands, then followed by adding or dipping the fabric in dyes.

It is hard to believe, but the earliest examples of tie-dye in the Far East are from the Sui dynasty (5th century AD) China. The earliest surviving examples of pre-Colombian tie-dye in Peru date from 500-810 AD. Through our research of tie-dye, we discovered that many cultures around the world have a form of dyeing fabric.

When working with the students, planning the design and knotting the fabric is the most time consuming. The activity and process of the dyeing is fun and exciting. The end results are usually surprising and shocking. Most students are pleasantly surprised with their finished project. 

This was a great way to end the school year. Enjoy our works of art!