Here is an artist statement and a picture of the piece that I created for my textiles class. In this class, as described in the artist statement below, we learned about the use of textiles, and then learned how to make our own. Overall it was a fun experience, and though it was difficult, was very rewarding.

Name : HP
Title : Birth and Death
Media Used : Screen Print on Cotton/wool mixture.
Size (15’’x 12’’)

For this trimester’s art project we are learning about textiles, and their different uses around the world. This varies from religious garb, to clothes, and blankets, and are used in different ways by different cultures. For different design elements we learned what stories behind different motifs (images) were, and specifically how they conveyed messages on the underground railroad to escaping slaves.
For my motifs, I drew inspiration from the hospital where I was born. It had a very unique circular architecture to it, and was only a few blocks away from where I grew up for most of my life. Unfortunately now, they are planning on tearing it down. I have 4 different motifs in my pattern, going from the fully constructed hospital, to a crumbled down version of it. I also chose to make this pattern in a half drop, left to right layout pattern/direction, because it seemed to me like you are reading a story (left to right, top to bottom).
For the colors, the background is grey because I whenever I envision the hospital it’s on an overcast day. The windows are black, not symbolizing death, but life (in Kente culture), and the buildings are different shades of brown, symbolizing earth (I believe the hospital is an important part of my neighborhood). According to color theory, the grey and black go well together because they are neutral colors, and usually those interact well with earth tones (brown).

To create this, first we had to choose our fabric, based on which fabric we thought represented us best. Next, we had to design our pattern (choosing the story, layout, etc). After we had these planned, we traced them onto our screens with drawing fluid, and then filled out the rest of the screen with screen filler. We then tested our screens on paper, before printing on our final fabric. We then divide up the fabric into grids, so that we equally distribute the pattern. Lastly, we printed the pattern onto the fabric. Overall this process has been challenging but rewarding, and I especially enjoyed learning the stories of how messages were spread through textiles.