This Fall I took a Natural Dye special studies course led by Professor Denise Green in Fiber Science & Apparel Design at Cornell. Each week, students presented about different natural dyes including Japanese Indigo, Madder Root, Eucalyptus, Onion Skins, and Gypsywort. It was fun to see the variety of colors, and learn about their seasonality.

Below are photographs of the final Natural Dye exhibit in the Jill Stuart Gallery that will be on display until January 20. (Click on the images to learn more about each piece.)

Fiber Art

‘Shading’ Fangfang Weng – wool and cotton dyed with indigo and cochineal

‘Circle of Life’ Menglin Jia- 100% cotton yarn dyed with red cabbage

‘Light’ Lan Luo – Wool felt dyed with cochineal, madder, black beans, and indigo

‘sisoiem 9’ Alyssa Sanders – wool dyed with cochineal, nylon dyed with tumeric and red cabbage

Surface Design

‘Coralesque’ Na Chainkua Reindorf – Indigo dyed cotton muslin inspired by Adire cloth of Nigeria

‘Respect is Just the Minimum’ Sarah Gotowka – handwoven ikat with St. John’s Wort and Indigo, silk warp, polyester weft

‘Path, Trees, Window’ Laura Robert – vintage 1950s taupe silk dyed with onion, indigo, madder root, turmeric, and juniper berries

‘California Dreaming’ Kennedy Rauh – raw silk dyed with marigold, cochineal, and alkanet

‘fon ma laew’ Alexandra Dalferro – wool/ silk twill blend dyed with indigo

Fashion Design

‘Untitled’ Betty Hensellek – Indigo dyed

‘Red Eye’ Rachel Powell – raw silk and merino wool dyed with alkanet, cochineal, and madder

‘Groundswell’ Denise Green – Indigo dyed silk with batik resist

Interactive Design

‘chiral’ Vanessa Sanchez – linen dyed with marigolds, cotton sateen dyed with light reactive dyes

‘chiral’ Vanessa Sanchez

‘chiral’ Vanessa Sanchez

‘Natural Comfort’ Lauryn Smith – cotton dyed with acorns, iron mordant

‘Metamorphosis’ Helen Trejo – Eucalyptus leaves on wool, angora, alpaca fibers