Creative tye-dying
Some of the Activities Week events and workshops helped pupils to explore their creative side.
Ayaan (Year 10) explains:
On Wednesday morning, the students began to tie-dye their T-Shirt, adding a variety of vibrant colours to the final design. Each design was unique, with some students opting for a spiral shape while others experimented with pattens such as stripes. Many used the colours as a background for a print which they would complete, but it was interesting to see how some students emphasised the colours with the intention of making them the dominant subject of the design.
Tye-dyeing itself was a relatively straightforward task for us; it involved folding up each shirt with rubber bands and then applying a liquid dye in the pattern we wished. By the afternoon we were ready to begin their print which, in contrast, many found to be a challenging segment of the project – hence it was completed over two days. Students selected a design from a variety chosen by DT department. These were safari-themed, with a range of wild animals to choose from, including cheetahs, tigers, crocodiles and zebras. Tracing paper was then used to copy out the design, and this was then stuck (using masking tape) on lino. Each student retraced the design onto the lino with high pressure using a graphite pencil, to highlight the print onto the lino material. When this was successful enough, students started to carve around the design they wanted as well as parts of the print which shouldn’t be inked, such as the eye of a tiger or the alternating stripes of a zebra.
After carving out their designs, each lino was inked with a roller and then tested on paper. Where a student was unhappy with that print, they could iterate by carving to achieve an altered print. After they were happy with their respective print, this was applied to the tie-dyed T-Shirt in a suitable place, finishing their T-shirt. Some students wished to have multiple prints, so they used prints from other students to complete their project.
A few students also reutilised their print as a suitable design for a card, which could be used for birthdays or many other celebrations. All students were very pleased with their efforts in making a designed T-shirt. Along the project, they learnt a variety of skills and techniques applicable to art and design, such as tye-dying, carving and inking. Thank you to all the teachers who made this project possible.