Jane Roberts DeGroff / Gifts of the Sanpete Land

In creating her work, Jane Roberts DeGroff uses the traditional Japanese dying technique, shibori along with locally harvested pigments from juniper, sagebrush, curly dock seeds, and organic indigo.

Gifts of the Sanpete Land is a wall hanging representing elements of life and land in Sanpete Valley. Gleaned from the beauty and natural resources of the region, sheep were created using the shibori techniques stitching and capping, trees were created using guntai and karamatsu stitching, the patterns on the side panels were created with stitching and binding, and the shibori panels at the top represent the beautiful mountains of the Sanpete Valley.

The panels along the bottom were created using arashi shibori, representing the tall grasses that once grew on the high elevation watersheds of the Wasatch Plateau in the late 1800’s. At that time, the area was severely overgrazed by sheep eventually causing catastrophic flooding in the towns of Manti and Ephraim. As a result, the residents of Sanpete petitioned the federal government to create a reserve area for research and study. The scientific practice of range management officially began in Sanpete County, and in 1912 the Great Basin Research Station (now known as Great Basin Station) was established in Ephraim Canyon for the study of range and forest management.

An integral aspect of Jane Roberts DeGroff’s work as a textile artist includes foraging in the landscape to collect plant matter. When collecting material from the plants, she strives to do it in such a way that no one would notice she had been there. This activity not only yields dyestuff, but is a reminder of her continual dependance on and connection with the earth – a sustaining belief that we have a responsibility to consider the needs of the land, and our gratitude for its generosity is an essential element in caring for it.

About the Artist
Jane Roberts DeGroff is a textile artist who specializes in shibori techniques and natural dyes. She grew up on a dairy farm near the small town of Etna Wyoming and attended Brigham Young University where she received a BFA. After college, Jane stayed in Utah and a longing for a rural life eventually brought her, with her husband and five children, to Spring City. Nearly a decade ago Jane discovered shibori and began teaching herself the ancient art of manual resist dyeing. She is passionate about creating patterns and images on cloth by manipulating fabric in a variety of ways to create resists before dyeing. Jane uses natural dyes on silk and cotton, including dyes made from plants harvested near her home.

Event is free and open to the public.

Granary Arts is supported in part by Utah Division of Arts & Museums, with funding from the State of Utah and the National Endowment for the Arts, The Sam and Diane Stewart Family Foundation, The Paul T. Walton Jr. Charitable Foundation, George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, The Ephraim City RAP Tax Fund, Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, Sanpete County Travel, and generous support from Ephraim City.