Dyed in the Wool

The next time you’re zipping through West Ashley to the Northbridge or riding your bike down the Greenway, keep an eye out for a young woman gathering flowers by the side of the road. It’s most likely Kristy Bishop collecting blooms for her next art piece.
Four years ago, Bishop began looking into the art form of fabric dying.
“It’s not something you can really jump into. I had to learn a lot, both from books and online research,” says Bishop.
She started with something simple: onion skins on natural fiber. The result was a rich, beautiful golden color and before long, she was hooked.
Bishop began experimenting with all kinds of dyes and dye processes; from flower pounding to the Japanese shibori technique, which involves folding and binding to create specific patterns. Two years ago she switched to an entirely natural dye process and now spends a good amount of her time looking for new plants that she can render into a variety of earthy hues.
“In the spring, fennel and coreopsis grow abundantly in recently disturbed areas such as roadsides or vacant lots.  This fall I picked a ton of goldenrod and last month I was able to pick and dry several dye plants while I was visiting South Dakota and Wyoming, such as walnut hulls, tansy, rose hips, sagebrush and rabbit brush,” says Bishop.
The results of her labor-intensive dye work are impressive. From gathered wool dyed with dozens of everyday wild flowers to crushed petals scattered on sewn and bound fabrics stretched tight through embroidery hoops, Bishop loves to think outside of the canvas box when considering how to present her next work.
In fact, she’ll be working her art on a pair of Bangs shoes as part of a charity show at Redux Contemporary Art Center on St. Philip Street, downtown, this coming Saturday, October 12. Along with artists such as Johnny Pundt, Patch Whisky and Allison Merrick of Spacecraft Studios, Bishop will create surface art on a pair of shoes that will go up for auction, with all proceeds benefiting P.I.C.K., a charity that benefits newborns with jaundice. The event takes place from 6 – 9 with live music and food trucks.
The Bangs show is just one of the many projects Bishop has going on.  She’s also teaching a natural dying class at the Charleston Museum on Saturday, November 16, and another one in West Ashley at Spacecraft Studios on Tuesday, November 19. Both classes will discuss the best ways to prepare different types of fabrics for varying shades with all types of wildcrafted plants.
“Students taking these classes will be able to bring personal items to dye and create recipe cards with samples of dyed fabric such as silk, linen, wool, and cotton,” Bishop explains.
She’s also working with the One Love Design House, a new artist collaborative center on King Street. Her naturally dyed infinity scarves were auctioned this past Thursday along with work by other artists participating in the new center.
As if all of that wasn’t enough to keep her more than busy, Bishop is also spearheading a new project that she loosely describes as an artist CSA.
“It works on the same principal as a farm CSA. Participants will be able to buy shares of art in February and the first pickup will take place this spring. Each share will consist of six pieces and people can go in on shares together or set up a payment plan. The shares are $500 each, which is really good for six unique works of art,” says Bishop.
The art each participant receives will be a collection from both emerging artists in the Charleston area as well as mid-career artists, and by participating in the CSA, patrons will not only be able to support the Charleston art scene, they’ll also be able to meet the artists and learn their stories.
“It will help to create more of an art community in Charleston. As it is, artists are getting their feet under them in Charleston and once they gain in popularity, they leave for San Francisco or New York…somewhere that really makes an effort to support the arts. We need to do that here so all of these great artists will stay and help the art scene in Charleston grow,” says Bishop.
The plans for the artist CSA are still being finalized, but Bishop hopes to announce a kick-off event for the collaborative this November.
Until then, she’ll be gathering flowers and plants along the roads, in empty lots and in overgrown areas throughout West Ashley until winter sets in. And she’s dying to get started on some new pieces.
 
For more information about Kristy Bishop and to view more of her artwork, visit www.kristybishop.bigcartel.com.