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Jennie Maydew: capstone

Date

2015

Authors

Maydew, Jennie, artist

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Abstract

The artist's statement: All color in my work is derived from non-edible plants that I have harvested by hand. I am drawn to the slow and intimate process of searching, collecting, storing, and preparing as a contrast to the hurried, detached aspects of my life as a modern human. To form structure in my life, I tend to think in grids, lists, and numbers. The chemistry of natural dyes is a bridge between the rational, predictable structure of science and the intuitive, expressive nature of art. My work in natural dyes is a representation of how things can exist as both methodical and intuitive, random and intentional. Fixing agents called mordants help plant dyes adhere permanently to fiber. Without a mordant, natural dyes fade drastically with time, use, and exposure to light. Art is the mordant for my memories; staining cloth with plants mimics imprinting memories in my own mind. My art is an attempt to make the ephemeral last, to protect what is fragile and precious in life. In a climate where plants become dormant annually, dyeing with their leaves and petals transforms a fleeting moment into something eternal.

Description

Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.
Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.

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