Assessing the Suitability of Woven Fabric and Composite Textile Techniques for Mural Production

Abstract

This art studio experimental study explored the suitability of woven cotton fabric as alternative material for creating pictorial designs for murals based on the batik, tie-and-dye, screen printing, appliqué and embroidery techniques in textiles. While painted and sculpted murals abound in Ghana, the study found textile murals a seemingly unknown art form. The experiments proved that plain woven mercerized cotton and damask fabrics are good materials for creating pictorial designs for textile murals. With the exception of the tie-dye technique which generates undefined pictorial designs, the batik, screen printing, appliqué and embroidery techniques yield significantly well-defined designs for producing textile murals. Displaying the textile murals in dry, airy places prevents fungal attack and easy deterioration which ensures a long shelf life for the murals.