Terrain V01 - Journal - Page 17
Sterling College | 15
Photo: Heidi Myers
Photo: Heidi Myers
Colors Of Nature,
The Art Of Naturally Dyed Materials
Less than two decades ago, the idea
of a food-traceable agriculture movement was niche. Today, farm-to-table
has changed the way we, as a society,
relate to our food. Prin van Gulden ‘07,
faculty in Environmental Humanities
and Sterling alumna, feels sustainable
textiles are poised to be the next shift in
our cultural behavior.
Fiber arts has a 15+ year history at
Sterling which connects agriculture,
ecology, and the humanities to everyday utilitarian objects. Wool and other
natural fibers invite students to explore
technical aspects of fiber arts and the
broader cultural influences thereof. Students thus consider fiber in history and
tradition, economic and social impacts
of fiber production and manufacturing, global and local fiber connections,
and the ways in which textile production and fast fashion are part of the climate-change crisis we are facing.
Diverging from petroleum-based, water-polluting, and chemically-intensive
dyes, the majority of the dyes used in
the Sterling curriculum are grown at the
College, in Prin’s home garden, or wild
harvested from nearby fields.
With a grant from the Work Colleges
Consortium, the College has moved beyond raw fiber produced on the Sterling
farm and embarked on a new product yarn! In addition to using Sterling yarn in
Introduction to Weaving, students in the
Work Program will play integral parts of
the dyeing, packaging, and marketing,
learning valuable lessons related to value added products.
“Fiber reacts to soap, to mordant, mordant reacts to pigment, pigment to time
and temperature, I react to color and
texture. My work is a reflection of this
experimentation, this conversation with
the many elements of the dye process.
I’ve felt amazed, frustrated, disappointed, and in love with each step of this
process. This work is some of all of that.”
-Sadie Stock ‘21