Land - Live Oak | A Natural State - Episode 10

Kaltura

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 hurricanes. Live oak wood is resistant to disease and decay, making it the material of choice for shipbuilders of the 17th - 19th centuries. Many of our live oaks may have "seen" those shipbuilding eras - the tree can live over a thousand years!

More in this Series

Natural State / Coastal Zone | A Natural State / Arianne King Comer

 Spotlight 1

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Spotlight
Episode 1
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

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Process of Making Batik
Episode 2
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 - Step 4 | A Natural State
   - Episode 5 Process of Making Batik 3

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Process of Making Batik
Episode 3
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 - Step 4 | A Natural State
   - Episode 5 Process of Making Batik 4

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Process of Making Batik
Episode 4
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.
Land - Live Oak | A Natural State
   - Episode 10 Process of Making Batik 5

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Process of Making Batik
Episode 5
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...
Process of Making Batik - Step 4 | A Natural State
   - Episode 5 Culture 6

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Culture
Episode 6
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...
Process of Making Batik - Step 4 | A Natural State
   - Episode 5 Indigo Dye | A Natural State 7

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Indigo Dye | A Natural State
Episode 7
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...
Process of Making Batik - Step 4 | A Natural State
   - Episode 5 Land 8

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Land
Episode 8
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...
Process of Making Batik - Step 4 | A Natural State
   - Episode 5 Land 9

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Land
Episode 9
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...
Process of Making Batik - Step 4 | A Natural State
   - Episode 5 Land 11

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Land
Episode 11
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...
Process of Making Batik - Step 4 | A Natural State
   - Episode 5 Land 12

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Land
Episode 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...