“To Dye For” by: Kate Andrews

Richmond Home magazine, January-Feburary 2019 issue

ArtSpace solo exhibition January 25- February 17, 2019

Like so many 20-somethings right out of college, Haylie Zapantis has a side hustle. But it’s not dog sitting or pouring craft beer; she uses her skills as a textile fiber artist to dye and design scarves sold online and at craft fairs.

A Hanover County native, the 24-year-old Zapantis also creates large textile pieces. They’re multicolored, pieced fabric collages that reflect flags, banners, quilts, and sometimes, stained-glass windows. Many incorporate intense shades of blue, because of the artist’s attraction to indigo dye.

“Indigo is a vat dye,” she explains. “The vat is kind of alive. It’s not like normal synthetic dye. You can have it for month. There’s little to no oxygen inside the vat, so it’s kind of a green color. When the oxygen hits it, the fabric turns blue. In college, I was dubbed the ‘Indigo Mom,’ because I was always checking to make sure our vat was healthy.”

After graduating last year from Maryland Institute College of Art with a degree in fiber, Zapantis is about to have her second solo exhibition in Richmond, from Jan 25 to Feb 17 in artspace’s main gallery. Because she does most of her work at home, her focus is often on attaching small pieces of fabric together. It’s a surprise once her large works are unfurled on walls, from beams or along windows, stretching 30 feet or longer.

Zapantis’ work is often experimental, using multiple natural fabrics such as bamboo rayon, wool, silk, silk velvet, and different types of dye, including some she makes herself from flowers and other natural materials. She learned how to make clothing and accessories in a costume-making course, and in 2016, Zapantis created her “Nasty Woman” fashion line, a group of color-blocked shift dresses, skirts and jackets influenced by the political environment of 2016.

At Zapantis’ fall 2018 show at Citizen restaurant, she used 155 colors in her works -mainly reds and blues, as well as occasional oranges. Because of her sustainability focus in school, she is well aware of the balance between creating satisfying work and being environmentally responsible.

“I don’t think I’ll ever think of myself as sticky a natural dyer,” Zapantis says. “I love what the dye process has to offer. I try to be very conscious of how much water i’m using. I definitely in the last year or two have tried to use things I forage. Eventually, I would love to grown my own indigo and dry it and harvest it and be able to dye with the plant I grow.”