Joyce Joines Newman
Center for Faculty Excellence
and Graduate, School of Art
East Carolina University
Ikat textile from Indonesia
Story of the block
In the summer of 1995 I returned to college after many years to study studio art. As part of my undergraduate coursework at UNC-Greensboro, I took a workshop at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts on the ancient craft of shibori. Shibori, also known as shaped-resist dyeing, is a Japanese term for methods of reserving and protecting areas of fabric from the dye bath that create complex patterns on the dyed cloth. A simplified version of the technique was popular for “hippie” clothing during the 1960s and 1970s as “tie dye.” Traditional methods found in Asian cultures include many other techniques for tying, stitching, folding or wrapping fabric to create resist areas, including plangi from Indonesia, bandhani from India, and tritik from Malaysia. For more information on shibori, visit the web site of the World Shibori Network.