Art 2: Fibers and Textiles class, are in the process of making large printed fabric designs with a portrait or animal printed on top.

Students are currently studying various fibers and working with fiber materials and their surfaces. A fiber can be a natural material such as cotton, or silk, or it can be a synthetic material that an artist works with.

Art 2: Fibers and Textiles is working on large scale printed fabric pieces. Students learned how to Shibori dye fabric at the beginning of the school year. Shibori is a Japanese fabric dyeing technique where you bind fabric so it becomes sculptural, then you dye it, and when opened,  you’re left with a beautiful design. Students were asked to Shibori dye their fabric with two techniques and two colors. 

Then they cut a pattern stencil to print in their background out of freezer paper. Afterwards they have been drawing out a larger portrait of a person or animal that is a two layered stencil that will be printed on top. This is a project that Sheri Parker created for this class since it incorporates what students learned previously and adds the new element of stenciling to it.

Patience is the key to progress in this class, though projects mainly take several days to be completed, the end result is always worth it. For junior Alexandria Lane, Fabrics and Textiles is a course worth taking.

“Fabrics and textiles is more fun than I expected because if you like to dye fabrics or paint on fabrics this is the class for you. And I also like how we can do whatever dye we want and what style This one project we are on takes a couple of class periods, but it’s really creative, fun also with outgoing ideas to do with it,” Lane said. 

 Art teacher Sheri Parker mentions her passion for fabrics and long history with fabrics and textiles. 

“The fibers class is a passion of mine. When I was in high school, my high school was fortunate enough to have a Textiles Art class, and then when I went to college I took all of the Textile classes. In those Fibers classes I learned how to dye fabric, weave on the loom, sew, embroidery, make natural dyes, work with acid dyes, make fabric sculptures, make paper, and weave baskets.” 

 Fiber arts class is hard to find because that type of art isn’t as popular and sometimes viewed as a craft. When BHS opened, Sheri Parker pitched the idea to teach a Fibers class to her Fine Art Coordinator and received the help to turn it into a course. Currently, Battle is the only school that offers Art 2: Fibers and Textiles. 

 “I think fiber arts is very interesting, incorporates a wide range of techniques, but the main thing I love about fiber and textile arts is that it is all about the processes we use as an artist in order to get an aesthetically/ beautiful piece in the end.” Sheri Parker said.