Textiles from around the World with Inspiring Patterns and Prints
There is a wealth of history and visual inspiration in textile design. This lesson is about creating your own pattern with shadows on the cyanotype paper, inspired by a collective look at textile patterns and prints from around the world.
Students begin by looking at the variety of different fabric prints across history. I would provide them with a black and white copy of the top image to be sure they focus on contrast, repetition and shapes, not color. They will have the chance to make a few experimental prints using found objects to discover the shapes and shadows produced. Last they will plan and create one print of their own.
As an added option, the students could use several cyanotypes in a collage, similar to a Japanese Boro in the example above.
Here is a link with more information about Japanese Boro Textiles