In early April, the students began working with Marfa artist and Chinati educator Grace Davis to learn Shibori, a Japanese resist dye technique that involves intricate stitching, binding and folding of fabric, usually silk, to create colorful patterns. The student artists were introduced to the medium and learned about the fiber-reactive dye process, including the use of additive chemicals such as soda ash and table salt (which enhance dye’s ability to bond with silk fibers.)

Each participant then came up with a design idea and began the time-consuming process of stitching their pattern onto individual, large pieces of habotai, also known as China silk.

This week, students are dying their fabric during after-school sessions with Davis at the museum, using vats of bright yellow, blue, and magenta to color their lengths of silk fabric. Experimenting with color blending, over-dyeing and dip dyeing is resulting in interesting and surprising outcomes as students hone their understanding of the technique.

Once the dye step is completed and the fabric has dried, students will install their artwork in the Arena. Everyone is invited to view the exhibition, which will be open to the public on Community Day, Sunday April 29, 2012 from 11 AM – 7 PM.

Chinati’s education and outreach programs are supported with generous grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Elke and Wilhelm Hoppe Endowment, Texas Commission on the Arts, the George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, the Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation, Union Pacific Foundation, and the Trull Foundation. Chinati also acknowledges the generous financial and in-kind contributions of the people of Marfa.