Madeline McGarrity

 

Natural Dye colors are very difficult to capture with digital photos - light conditions can shift appearance drastically.

 

Madeleine McGarrity

Studio Location: Andover, New Jersey, USA

Title: The Silver Upshot

Materials: indigo, madder root, pomegranate extract, alum mordant, iron mordant, clay resist, organic cotton voile, Foxfibre Sea Island cotton plain weave

Price: $760

Indigo species: Indigofera tinctoria

Indigo source: Stony Creek Colors

Primary method: screen-printed clay resist, vat dyed

Type of vat: a fructose vat and a fermentation vat

Other applications:  screen printed mordant medium, immersion dyed with madder root and pomegranate extract

Artist bio:

Madeleine McGarrity runs the Cold and Deadly project, investigating the development of an accessible circular system for printing textiles with natural dyes. She is a textile researcher and professional printmaker. She worked as a production textile printer and teacher in Brooklyn, NY from 2012 to 2020, before relocating to the Highlands region of New Jersey. In addition to Cold and Deadly, she sustains a small personal studio practice under the moniker Whoopee Hall. After receiving a BFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2010, she learned about textile printing through work, and natural dyes through personal study. She is passionate about circular production methods, textile history and watershed ecology, all of which influence both her research work and her personal work.

Artist statement:

My personal work focuses on relationships between people, and between people and their lives, using symbolism and storytelling, with a heavy emphasis on gesture and mark making. Cold and Deadly, on the other hand, is a research project, separate from my personal work. The imagery used for tests within the project is designed to measure print quality and outcomes, and to be easily scaled up or down in size and complexity as needed. This piece, made especially for Indigo Matrix, is an even marriage of my two practices, and something I have never attempted before. Here, Cold and Deadly imagery is used as a tool to convey a conceptual meaning—one which fits securely within the scope of my other personal work.