From nature's inspiration to wearable art

We had an unusually wet August here in the desert of New Mexico. As I was driving out in the country, I was delighted to see our typical browns and beige's had magically transformed into green foliage and yellow flowers.

Inspiration for my next piece

Follow my process below

New Mexico's nature has become a factor for everything that I do. With unpredictable spring dust storms and extremely hot summers. I have a small window in Mother Nature's schedule to try to get all my outdoor dyeing projects finished, usually from late August through November.

woven fabric just off the loom

pulling the threads to create the design

Earlier this summer I had woven two pieces of  beige rayon chenille fabric. I wove in supplemental threads intended to be pulled and gathered to create a pattern effect after dyeing, otherwise called woven shibori. Because of my love for color, this colorless weaving is somewhat boring. But I can tolerate it knowing the end justifies the means.

When the reprieve from the heat of summer arrived, I embraced the part of this craft that I had been waiting for and started mixing dyes. First I spread my fabric on tables outside while enjoying the sounds and smells of nature. That's when I feel at one with this process.

strings are pulled and it's ready to dye

Initially it's all so unpredictable and scary. There is the possibility of the perfect outcome. But that gets mixed up with my old fear of failure. All the time and money invested and old childish beliefs that failure is a bad thing even though  I really know "there IS no failure," only learning opportunities that come from allowing the unknown to happen. If I can get out of my own way, what emerges is something even better than what I could ever imagine.


and then I add more color

I start with a light wash of color

The process is lengthy and physically difficult without a professional dye studio. After the dyes have set, the fabric is soaked in tubs of water which are dumped and refilled. Then there's the rinsing. Rinsing, rinsing and more rinsing while on my knees and twisted over the edge of a bathtub.
 

fabric is ready to sew

For the next piece of fabric, I wanted to use shades of red. Red for energy, passion, spirit and love. Red makes me happy and reminds me of the pinks, oranges purples and reds in the flowers that I love the most.




laying out my color palette

dyes have been painted on and ready to process

long jacket trimmed in purple

When it's all said and done, I am amazed and satisfied!





Boho Jacket

Here's my newest -- introducing the Boho Jacket! I started with a warp of flax blend and wove the weft with rayon chenille. I used light colors of yarn which just about drove me crazy since I get extremely bored weaving light colors.

I decided to play with folding and wrapping to resist the dyes. Okay, it's really tie-dye but I think it works with this style. Here are the cocoon-like pieces just before I placed them in the dye bath.

For the sleeves, I used office clips. I really like the little lines they created on fabric. I dyed that piece in black dye but with the yellowish undertones of the base fabric, it looks more brownish-black.

Dye pots processing.

Outside the Box

Lately I've been giving a lot of thought to what it would be like for me to not weave all my fabric. This has been a struggle because when I found weaving , I felt I had found a part of myself that had been missing. With my last name Weaver and those who came before me (although it had been lost in recent generations) weaving has been my identity since I took my first class 16 years ago. Although I do other fiber arts such as digital imagery on fabric and dyed silk items, I still think of myself as a handweaver.
Weaving fabric and sometimes dyeing the fabric and then designing clothing from this fabric is time intensive, and the customer often does not appreciate the time involved in this process. I'm realizing that the style I create is often more desireable than the handwoven fabric.

So I stepped outside my box and ordered yards of undyed cotton velour and spent most of the last two weeks dyeing and sewing my newest design - a fun and comfy top. I'm really excited about this piece since I've had many requests for items for larger sizes. This is a one-size-fits-all so anyone can wear it comfortably. It comes in a short and long version - this one works well with leggings - and the fabric has stretch too. Best of all, it is completely machine washable and dryable.

I'm already imagining this in a lighter fabric for spring/summer and new colors.

Sandstorms in the Desert

Listening to The Emperor is Naked Today-O by Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer from Songs of Pete Seeger, Vol 2". Just returned from Palm Desert, California where I was one of eight featured designers at Earth Spirits, a funky little boutique, at their fashion week in conjunction with El Paseo Fashion Week. This was my second year. Instead of flying, this year we made it a road trip. My husband, Carl, and I love to travel the back roads.

Sand Dunes on Southern California Desert

It was cooler than I'd expected. In the deserts of Southern California we experienced vicious dust storms. The spa in Desert Hot Springs where we stayed expecting a hot soak, turned out to be a "cold" soak instead with high winds bending the palm trees almost in half.

On our way home we stopped in Phoenix and met an old friend of my husband's who is into jewelry making. She inspired me to incorporate beads on my garments.

Since returning to my studio, I've finished a one-of-a-kind fabulously artsy jacket for an incredible woman from Philadelphia who has more knowledge of art and artists than anyone I know. She'll wear it well! This jacket was labor intensive but in my opinion, the end result is worth the time and effort. The fabric is rayon chenille which I wove on my floor loom. The designs were painted onto the finished fabric with fiber reactive dyes. After the jacket was sewn, I added the glass beads.