Dyemaker and Batik

Arianne King Comer was drawn to St. Helena Island after studying textile design and indigo dyeing in Nigeria. The rural sea island bridged Arianne’s knowledge of traditional African arts to its American counterpart, the arts of the low country Gullah culture.

To learn more about Arianne and her batiks, click on the videos below.

Title:
Spotlight 1
Spotlight
Episode 1

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Arianne grew up in a landscape of gardens, farms and the sea near Virginia Beach, Virginia. As a "child of nature," Arianne found an artistic release through dance and drawing. Arianne later studied...
Process of Making Batik 2
Process of Making Batik
Episode 2

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Arianne uses the batik process of fabric design, a traditional art she mastered while living with the Yoruba culture of Nigeria. Batik uses wax and layers of color to create vibrant images on textiles...
Process of Making Batik 3
Process of Making Batik
Episode 3

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

In this step, Arianne applies a light wash of turquoise to represent the sea and sky. Wax outline on the cloth prevents the wash from entering areas of the fabric where it is not desired. After...
Process of Making Batik 4
Process of Making Batik
Episode 4

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

When Arianne is satisfied with a layer of color, she "blocks" the layer with a coat of melted wax. The dried wax prevents new layers of color from entering areas that are complete.
Process of Making Batik 5
Process of Making Batik
Episode 5

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Arianne finishes her piece with her "signature," an application of indigo dye that creates the blacks and deep blues of her work. A finished batik is rich with patterns, dark and light colors, and...
Culture 6
Culture
Episode 6

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Adesola Falade processes indigo and designs fabrics for Arienne’s studio and boutique, the Ibile Indigo House. Ibile (pronounced E-be-lae) is a West African word meaning, "those who are messengers...
Indigo Dye | A Natural State 7
Indigo Dye | A Natural State
Episode 7

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Indigo was grown extensively on the Sea Islands from the middle 1600s - late 1700s. Blue stained hands were a mark of slaves in the dye making and application trade. Though synthetic dyes are now used...
Land 8
Land
Episode 8

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Gullah community of St. Helena struggles to promote the island's cultural and natural resources while preserving the environment for future generations. Livelihoods based on fishing, farming and...
Land 9
Land
Episode 9

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Robert Middleton left St. Helena at age 18, returning 45 years later after serving in the army, studying at Howard University, and a career of social work in Washington, D.C. and on an Apache Indian...
Land 10
Land
Episode 10

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Live oaks with broad, lumbering branches and beards of Spanish moss are a common sight in South Carolina’s coastal area. The tree’s resistance to wind and sea spray buffer the coast from seasonal...
Land 11
Land
Episode 11

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Native Americans called it "tree hair." French colonists changed it to "Barbe espagnole," or "Spanish Beard," to ridicule the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Spanish moss survives as its common name...
Land 12
Land
Episode 12

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Several generations of the St. Helena community attended the historic Penn School, established as one of the first schools for freed slaves. In the 1950s and 1960s, the site served as a safe retreat...