Student Info
Name: Gloria Gutierrez
Term: Spring 2021
Credits: 8
Title: Fleece to Fabric: Ethical Textiles Inspired by Ancient Greece – 3
Program of Project Description
Narrative: For this contract, entitled Fleece To Fabric: Ethical Textiles Inspired by Ancient Greece 3, the student, in their final quarter at The Evergreen State College, will finish their exploration of Slow Fashion through the creation of a wearable textile. Slow Fashion is an idea that became popular due to the book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline; it is an alternative approach to fashion that focuses on the sustainability and ethics of the processes and resources needed to make clothing. In order to gain better understanding of Slow Fashion and what goes into an ethical garment, the student will record the amount of time and money that is necessary to create a chiton, a piece of clothing often worn in ancient Greece by both men and women that consists of a large rectangular piece of fabric that is pinned at the shoulders and held closed by a belt. In the fall quarter, the student processed raw wool into roving and started the process of spinning it into yarn while doing research into the history and societal connotations of the chiton. In the winter quarter the student continued both their spinning work and research into ancient Greece; they explored the role of color in Greek society along with the materials necessary to dye clothing. In the spring quarter, the student will dye the yarn they have created using historical dyestuffs, such as madder and woad, and weave with the yarn to create the fabric needed to make a chiton. The student will continue their exploration of ancient Greece by looking into the symbolism and literary motifs of spinning and weaving; the activities’ relationship with women in a society in which they were not allowed to have agency; and how this relationship may still be seen to this day, when still many women have no voice.
| Learning objective | Activity | Deliverable |
| I will continue to explore the necessary time, effort, and money it takes to create a textile in a sustainable and ethical manner. | This quarter I will, using natural sources, dye wool yarn; weave several panels of fabric using a loom borrowed from the Longhouse Fiber Arts studio; and assemble the panels into an ancient Greek garment called a chiton. I will also determine the final cost of the garment, factoring in what I have spent and the amount of hours needed to create the chiton from start to finish. | A woven textile created by myself, a document detailing the cost and labor hours; and a templated e-portfolio on a campus WordPress website |
| I will research the role and symbolism of spinning and weaving, A.K.A. “women’s work”, in ancient Greece. | I will research fiber art tools of ancient Greece and explore the literary motifs of spinning and weaving, i.e. Penelope and her loom in The Odyssey. I will write about my research and my own analyses on a WordPress blog. Readings will include Spinning Fates and the Song of the Loom: The Use of Textiles, Clothing and Cloth Production as Metaphor, Symbol and Narrative Device in Greek and Latin Literature by Giovanni Fanfani, Mary Harlow, and Marie Louise Nosch. | A templated e-portfolio on a campus WordPress website. |
Evaluation of Work
- Narrative evaluation from sponsor
- Narrative self-evaluation from student