Cold and Deadly is a project investigating natural dye print processes with the goal of designing a modern system for production textile printing that is circular and climate beneficial.
Currently, the project focuses on researching and testing traditional methods of printing with dyes known to be light- and wash-fast. Historically, printers and dyers used these techniques to produce permanent, vibrant, multi-color prints on textile yardage, using woodblocks, engraved rollers, stenciling, and hand painting.
The Cold and Deadly system will be built around silk screen printing–the most common modern method for commercial textile printing. Historical documents, scientific papers, input from members of the modern natural dye community, and rigorous testing drive the research for the project; the resulting processes are a mix of modern dyers’ processes, historical industrial practices, and discoveries that evolve naturally during testing.
The name Cold and Deadly comes from a treatise on small-scale industrial dyeing written by Elija Bemiss in 1815. As was common at the time, he describes his materials through their perceived characteristics, inferring their preferred use in those terms. Thus, he deems cotton and silk to be “of a cold and deadly nature,” inferring both dye best in cold processes only (an inference that is arguably almost entirely incorrect.)
In part, Cold and Deadly is a nod to historical natural dye systems and their passionate creators, as well as an acknowledgment of the current state of global textile manufacture, which is nothing if not deadly—for garment workers, for our planet—and devoid of any feeling of community or conscience. Cold and Deadly is founded on the belief that natural dyes present a unique opportunity to create a circular system for textile printing, specifically for smaller production studios that operate as an integral part of local economies and Fibersheds.
The project is run by Madeleine McGarrity. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Printmaking, and worked as a printmaking teacher and professional textile printer in Brooklyn, NY from 2012 to 2020. Cold and Deadly began in 2019 in a rural New Jersey studio, originating from a desire to use natural dyes in her own fine art print work. She recently relocated to Providence, RI, and works for the Rhode Island School of Design as the Surface Technician for the Textiles Department. In the rest of her time, Madeleine sustains a studio art practice, is an avid outdoors person, bike commuter and gardener.