Studio Class: Fabric Dyeing 101
August 15 – September 19, 2024 | 1:30–4 p.m.
Location: High Museum of Art, Greene Family Education Center
Registration Required
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This multiweek studio class will explore different fabric dyeing techniques including faux tie dye, bellows and stamping, layer dyeing, ice dyeing, tri tic, and the crumple-and-scrunch method. Inspired by works featured in Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection , each class session will include a short visit to the galleries to learn about the quilting and dyeing techniques on view before moving to the workshop where we will create our own dyed fabric artworks.
In this class, we will learn a different dyeing technique each week to create a new dyed piece of fabric, resulting in a collection of unique fabrics at the end of the class. Facilitated by High Museum of Art teaching artist and quilter Marquetta Johnson, whose work is featured in the exhibition, this class will encourage experimentation and exploration of color, pattern, design, and composition through this textile practice. Throughout the class, there will be opportunities to share our work with one another and receive instructor feedback and guidance.
About Your Instructor
Marquetta Johnson is a teaching artist at the High Museum of Art and a quilter residing in Jonesboro, Georgia. She has over thirty years of teaching experience and professional development in the areas of arts integration, arts infusion, and inclusive classrooms. She has appeared on many radio and television shows discussing and demonstrating her art form, such as HGTV’s Crafters Coast to Coast. Her artwork has been featured in several magazines including Quilt Magazine and MARTA’s Marta on the Go magazine and is in many private and corporate collections such as the estate of the late B. B. King, Faith Ringgold, University of Maryland, Turner Broadcasting, and The Coca-Cola Company. She is the author of the book Hand-Dyed Quilts (Sterling, 2008) and is affiliated with VSA Arts International Network with the Kennedy Center, the NAMES Project Aids Memorial Quilt, Museum of Design Atlanta, and the High Museum of Art.
About Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection
Patterns in Abstraction highlights the museum’s collection of quilts made by Black women, including many works by well-known Gee’s Bend quilters such as Mary Lee Bendolph, Louisiana Bendolph, and Lucy T. Pettway, along with works by Atlanta-based quilter Marquetta Johnson and early twentieth-century examples by artists once known. The quilts on view are mostly variations on Birds in the Air and Housetop themes, two centuries-old quilt patterns that are geometric distillations of natural phenomenon and humanmade environments, while others have deeper meanings as memorials to family members. Presented as both objects made for use and with the artistic intent to represent people, places, and things abstractly, these quilts offer a window into how the production of nonacademic artists can transform our understanding of artistic innovation in American art.
About Studio Classes
Multisession Studio Classes explore mediums and materials in depth and enable you to build technical skills through scaffolded, sequential instruction. Professional teaching artists will guide engagement as you expand your creativity and gain a greater appreciation for artistic processes. Studio Classes are intermediate level; they are designed for adults with some experience. All materials are provided.
For more information, please email culturecollective@high.org or call 404-733-5034.
Know Before You Go
This class will meet on Thursdays, August 15, 22, and 29 and September 5, 12, and 19. On the first day of class, please present your QR code ticket to a Guest Relations team member at the Admissions and Information desk. Then, please proceed to the Red Workshop where this Studio Class is taking place. The Red Workshop is on the Lower Level of the Stent Family Wing in the Greene Family Education Center.