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African Adire Eleso and Adinkra

This project combines two different techniques used by artists in Africa.

Adire Eleso is a tie-dying process that has been practiced and perfected by the people of in West Africa. Designs and patterns are created by folding, bunching, and twisting fabric and then tying or sewing it tightly so the inside areas will resist applied to the fabric. Sewing beans and seeds into the cloth to create millions of tiny circles is one of the most ornate and beautiful traditional designs. Traditional Adire cloth is soaked in an dye. We will be using multiple colors to dye our fabric.

Adinkra cloth is fabric that has been decorated with African symbols and designs. The symbols are cut from calabash, dipped into homemade ink, and stamped onto cloth. We will be cutting our Adinkra inspired designs from a soft printing block.

The Project

Tie-Dying (Adire Eleso) We will be using fabric for this project. You will need to have a plan on how you will be dying your fabric before you begin. The teacher will demonstrate how to create a spiral, bullseye (what’s another name for this?), circles, and stripes. Some of these techniques can be combined for interesting effects.

Printing (Adinkra) For this project you will be creating 2 designs similar to the ones used to make Adinkra cloth. You will have sample designs to look at for inspiration. You may use ideas from the sample designs, but you will need to change them by adding your own ideas. (No copying!)

Handout Created by S. Wagner-Marx

1. First you will need to brainstorm ideas and meanings for your designs. Please use the box below to write out your ideas!

2. Now think about how you can portray these ideas visually. What will the symbols look like? Use the boxes below to create thumbnail sketches of your ideas.

*IMPORTANT: Imagine the symbols are like bubble letters – they should have thickness to them!

You want this: Not this:

3. Now choose two of your designs for your final prints. Trace the block onto a piece of drawing paper and redraw just the outline of your designs. Make sure you are filling the space with your design!

Handout Created by S. Wagner-Marx

4. In one design color the positive space . The positive space is the design. In the other design color the negative space . The negative space is the area surrounding the design, or what we normally think of as the background. (Ms. W will demonstrate this for you!)

5. Transfer your designs to your printing block. For each of your designs, you will be carving away the part of your design you did not color in. In other words, the part you colored in will be the raised part that you print.

*You must be VERY CAREFUL when carving the printing block. Remember to always cut AWAY from your hand that is anchoring the block.

We will first create test prints of both designs onto printing paper. Follow the printing directions carefully to insure a clean final print. When you have created at least 1 test print that you are satisfied with (for both designs), you will be ready to print the block onto your Adire Eleso cloth.

*Printing from a raised surface is called relief printing .

Printing Steps

1. Squeeze a small amount of water based ink onto the rolling surface.

2. Use a brayer to evenly roll out the ink. It should sound crackly and look sticky. If the brayer is sliding around and not rolling, you have too much ink on the brayer and you will need to spread it out more.

3. Roll the brayer over the surface of the printing block that you are going to print. Make sure you cover all of the raised areas completely!

4. Set the brayer down, roller side up! Carefully pick up your printing block and turn it upside down. Line it up over the paper or cloth you are printing on and press it down firmly.

5. While applying pressure, rub your hand over the back of the block. When you are sure you have pressed it all down, you can carefully lift it and turn it back over so the inked side is up.

6. You can now re-ink the same side and print again (if you are using the same color) or you can rinse it off and dry it and print the other side.

7. When you are finished printing on a piece of paper or on your cloth, carry it to the drying rack so it can dry until the next class period.

Handout Created by S. Wagner-Marx