Creative Design: Professional

Hemp for Victory!: The History of Hemp in America, Embodied in an Educational Artifact

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Abstract

Hemp has a complicated history in the United States. The purpose of this piece was to immerse the primary designer in this history and create an educational artifact which would summarize and make accessible this history to textile and apparel scholars and students. An educational artifact, or object, is a re-useable item incorporating interactive simulations and materials (Friesen, 2010). Though hemp fiber has recently gained popularity in creative scholarship (See Yang, 2019 & Pasricha, 2018), the fiber itself and the domestic history have yet to be the focus of a creative scholarship project. After thorough interdisciplinary research on the topic, the created garment, or educational artifact, utilized flat pattern, Optitex, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop to highlight the pivotal events for hemp in the US. The goal of this design is to illustrate the history of hemp in America and the fiber’s sustainable potential by creating an educational artifact which details the main events of this history. The black border throughout the piece acts to segment the history displayed into four “story” main areas: 1) Hemp in the Ancient World on the bodice top, 2) Hemp in Early America on skirt front, 3) Height of Hemp in America, the Decline and the Drug War on the skirt back and 4) Current Research in Hemp Uses on bodice back. The border also provides harmony with the black text. The design and print utilize symmetrical balance, with color pictures emphasizing key points in hemp’s American history.

Keywords: Educational Artifact, Hemp, Digital Printing, Sustainability

How to Cite:

Harmon, J., (2022) “Hemp for Victory!: The History of Hemp in America, Embodied in an Educational Artifact”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 78(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.13836