EXHIBITION STATEMENT
Clothing and textiles are a fundamental part of everyday life, a major sector in the global economy, and a contributor to overconsumption, waste, and pollution. The industry is beginning to address such concerns through design driven circular economy to reduce waste and pollution, circulate products and materials at their highest value, and regenerate nature. Despite these aims, little attention has been paid to how our bodies and textiles at end-of-life factor into a circular economy. Even though death is 100% guaranteed, our current society avoids end-of-life discussions, knows little about burial and funeral options, and thus are unaware of the current natural burial movement.
The goals of this design research were to create a body of fiber art employing circular strategies of local color, design for multi-use and decomposition, and meaningful engagement about death and end-of-life planning.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Sherry Haar is a natural dye scholar and fashion studies professor at Kansas State University. Her work investigates sustainable design strategies and ecology of place through extraction of color and pattern from the Kansas prairie onto fiber. The sewing machine, since the age of four, has been her primary tool of transforming and supplementing the textiles to wearable forms and art quilts, and recently natural burial garments, shrouds, and coffins. Natural earth burials, which utilize micro-organisms in the soil to decompose the body to become a soil nutrient, align with Haar’s circular design approaches. Haar’s burial textiles engage us in conversations about death and end-of-life planning, contributing to human and environmental well-being. Her work has been exhibited in six countries. Sherry grew up in Wilber, NE and received her PhD from Virginia Tech and MS and BS from University of Nebraska.
Kelsie Doty is an assistant professor of fashion studies at Kansas State University. Her research and creative design practice considers the intersections of sustainability, fashion supply chains, and communities, approached from a multidisciplinary perspective. Kelsie grew up in Burns, KS and received her PhD from Cornell University and MS and BS from Kansas State University.
What is GREEN BURIAL?
A green or natural burial is a way of caring for the body prior to and during burial that is non-invasive and eco-friendly. There is minimal environmental impact which aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat.
Green Burial Cemeteries
- Foregoe embalming fluids, vaults, herbicides and pesticides
- Allow biodegradable containers, caskets, shrouds, and urns, often made with local resources by local craftspeople
- Encourage sustainable management practices
- May use GPS units or native stone to mark grave sites
- Restore or preserve native plant species and wildlife habitat
- Reduce carbon footprint and contribute to a natural eco-cycle
The Case for Green Burial, Lee Webster, 2015.
Common Questions & Resources
- Won’t wild animals dig up corpses?
- Won’t we be able to smell them?
- Do green burials contaminate the water table or drinking water?
- Do unembalmed bodies pollute the ground with chemo and other drugs?
- How long does it take for a body to decompose?
- How much does it cost?
- What about Cremation?
- Green Burial Council website
- The Green Burial Guidebook, Elizabeth Fournier, 2018
- Green Burial Council Publications
- Green cemetery near me
- Home Funerals: Guide & Resources, National Home Funeral Alliance, 2023
- A Path Home, National Home Funeral Alliance Podcast
Above & Below – Now & Later
2024
Fiber
Sherry Haar
Courtesy of the artist
Above & Below is a “statement” cloak that can be worn by the living and then transitioned for burial. The wordplay in the cloak’s title and its light and dark coloring are inspired by the Kansas Flint Hills prairie ecology. The grasses “above” and “now” contrast with the roots “below” and “later,” aiming to facilitate conversations about end-of-life planning and how our decisions and bodies can impact the environment.
Fabrics: Cotton, hemp/cotton, hemp/silk
Yarns: Wool
Natural color & print from: Sumac, Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Switch Grass, Indian Grass, Foxtail Grass, Witchgrass, Plains Coreopsis, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Logwood, Walnut, Hollyhock, Cosmos
Methods: Dyeing, contact printing, draping & flat pattern, sewing, free-motion quilting
June Prairie Angel
2024
Fiber
Sherry Haar
Courtesy of the artist
Natural burial containers are biodegradable and often made with local materials by local artisans. The primary fiber of this coffin cover is alpaca fleece sourced from Kansas ranchers. Alpacas are among the most eco-friendly producers of natural fiber. The coffin’s fleece colors come from the alpaca’s natural palette and local plant dyes. The work’s imagery is inspired by walks through the prairie in early June and June’s three gemstones.
Fleece: Alpaca in eight natural colors, merino and corriedale
Natural dye color from: Goldenrod, Weld, Osage Orange, Coreopsis, Sunflower, Ironweed, Chlorophyll, Logwood, Cochineal, Madder, Walnut
Methods: Dyeing, painting, needle felting, wet felting
Pockets of Love
2024
Fiber
Sherry Haar
Courtesy of the artist
Memories, affirmations, and expressions of love pour forth after someone dies. Wouldn’t it be comforting to receive these things while one is alive? Pockets of Love is a lap quilt to gather sentiments and signatures akin to a mid-1800s signature quilt. The home vigil bag reflects nineteenth-century home funeral practices. It contains items for a home wake and end-oflife directives. The quilted carrier cradles the body for delivery back to the earth.
Fabrics: Cotton, linen, wool, hemp, flax
Natural color from plants and insects: Chamomile, Chlorophyll, Crysanthemum, Cochineal, Comfrey, Coneflower, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Cutch, Goldenrod, Hibiscus, Hollyhock, Ironweed, Indigo, Lac, Logwood, Madder, Marigold, Mint, Osage Orange, Quebracho, Sorghum, St. John’s Wort, Sumac, Sunflower, Weld, Walnut
Methods: Dyeing, sewing, machine quilting
Tall Grass Prairie Burial Gown
2022
Fiber
Sherry Haar
Courtesy of the artist
Green burials allow for the care of the dead while preserving or restoring the environment. Such care includes wrapping or clothing the body with biodegradable textiles. This burial gown incorporates biodegradability through organic fibers dyed and printed with prairie plants, unfinished edges, and lacing closures. The garment design was influenced by the rushed rites of passage Ukrainians are experiencing and Ukrainian harvest rituals. It also references a Czech tradition of being dressed in a wedding gown for burial. The artist’s heritage is Czech.
Fabrics: Cotton, silk, silk/cotton, silk/linen, hemp, hemp/silk, bamboo
Natural color & print from: Goldenrod, Ironweed, Sunflower, Plains Coreopsis, Osage Orange, Big Bluestem, Foxtail Grass, Switch Grass
Methods: Dyeing, contact printing, draping and flat pattern, sewing
Grandma Didn’t Wear Jeans
2024
Upcycled Denim
Kelsie Doty & Sherry Haar
Collection of the artists
Recalling and recording memories is a way to honor our loved ones. Grandma Didn’t Wear Jeans is a tribute to our grandmothers’ physical labor, which was often grueling and thankless. Our grandmothers did daily farm labor in house dresses and aprons while our grandfathers wore jeans and coveralls. This difference is expressed through depictions of the women’s feminine-coded work made from upcycled denim clothing worn by the families’ masculine members (fathers, husbands, and sons).
Fabrics: Cotton denim from jeans
Methods: Hand applique and embroidery, sewing, machine quilting
NATURAL DYE PROCESS
Textiles are pre-treated (mordanted) with aluminum compounds. Cellulose fibers are also immersed in a tannin bath, such as local sumac or gallnut.
Dyestuffs are grown or gathered, and color is extracted by heating in a small amount of water.
Pre-treated fabric is immersed in the dyebath. Extraction and dyeing can be done with containers (bag, jar, kettle) with solar heat outside or in a kettle on an electric surface.
CONTACT PRINT PROCESS
Plants are placed on damp, pre-mordanted fabric.
Layers are rolled or bundled tightly and secured to create contact between plant and fabric.
The roll is steamed in a vertical steamer. Fabric can also be folded and steamed in an electric roaster, pressure cooker, kettle, or solar methods.
FELTING PROCESS
Fleece from Kansas alpaca ranch.
Fleece is mordanted, naturally dyed, and carded.
Image is painted with natural dyes onto wool base. Base painting and base felt are hand-basted together.
Fleece is needle felted to base materials, wet felted lightly, followed by more needle felting.
Dear Viewer,
Thank you for visiting Return to Prairie: Textiles for Green Burial Awareness, in person or virtually. The exhibition is part of my creative research activity and I welcome your reflection of the experience. If you are 18 years of age or older, I invite you to complete the very brief research survey by December 15, 2024.
CONTACT
Sherry Haar, haar@ksu.edu