My name is Imelda Nyang’iti, I am a Fine artist student at Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts, in my second year. My time spent in BIFA has improved my view of the artist world and different ways to come up with unique and interesting compositions. One of the few projects that I have worked on is the one shown above. The image shows four pieces of fabric each with different patterns on them. The process of adding colour to the fabrics is known as Tie and Dye. In tie and dye, the techniques that I used on the fabric samples are binding an item with string, marbling, pleating and folding respectively. These techniques are what make the end product have distinct patterns and, this form of decorating fabric can be used in the production of clothes. In Kenya for example, this form of fabric decoration can be used when making the famous ‘deras’. Deras are African dresses that are commonly worn by women for leisure or when they are working as they allow free mobility. Most of the dera dresses are decorated by applying tie and dye techniques to give them a more traditional or African feel.