What: Launch event for the UNT Natural Dye Garden. UNT faculty and students will use plants, roots and other materials from the garden to create natural dyes. UNT art students will offer natural dye demonstrations at the grand opening event.
When/ Where: 6 p.m. Oct. 9 (Wednesday) at the UNT Natural Dye Garden, located west of Bain Hall at 1820 W. Highland St.
Cost: Free
Contact: Lesli Robertson, senior lecturer in UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design, at Lesli.Robertson@unt.edu.
DENTON (UNT), Texas -- The University of North Texas will host a launch event for the UNT Natural Dye Garden at 6 p.m. Oct. 9 (Wednesday) at 1820 W. Highland St. The event will include demonstrations from 6 to 8 p.m. hosted by UNT art students on how to create and use natural dyes.
The garden will be a source of natural materials, including leaves, petals and roots, for UNT art students to use to create organic dyes for fibers projects. The garden is located on the west side of Bain Hall, which is at the intersection of Avenue D and Highland Street.
The garden project was led by students Morgan Kuster, Analise Minjarez, Abby Sherrill and Sarah Westrup, and has been funded by UNT’s We Mean Green Fund, housed in UNT’s Office of Sustainability, and UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design.
The garden also features a site-specific sculpture by Greenmeme, a design group, which was funded by a private donor. The Greenmeme sculpture also is featured as part of a regional art exhibition, Make Art With Purpose 2013, organized by Janeil Engelstad. Make Art With Purpose is an exhibition of projects that restore and preserve the environment, promote social justice and advance human knowledge and well-being throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Visiting artist Sasha Duerr led a natural dye workshop at UNT in 2012, which inspired students to create a natural dye garden on campus. Students approached UNT’s Office of Sustainability with the idea and asked for funding from UNT’s We Mean Green Fund.
The We Mean Green Fund is a $5 per student fee that funds environmentally-friendly and sustainable projects across the UNT campus. The fee was voted on and approved by a student majority during Earth Week 2010. UNT students, faculty and staff can propose sustainable projects online.
The fund has supported projects including the installation of electric vehicle charging stations across campus, the installation of filtered water stations to easily refill reusable water bottles, tree plantings and added recycling bins.