The Work
A stick, a stone, a leaf, a song...
The natural world is my inspiration for creating
richly patterned and textured fabrics which are
then fabricated into unique clothing and
assessories as adornment.
I
work with the traditional Japanese method of
arashi shibori combined with resist dyeing,
handbainting, block printing and various other
surface design processes involving layering of
color, pattern and texture.
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Shibori
is a traditional Japanese art form of embellishing textiles
through thechniques of shapeing and securing cloth before
dyeing. The work comes from the verb root shiboru,
"to wring, squeeze, press". Unique to shibori is
the three-demensional form given to cloth by various shaping
methods--such as folding,wrapping or stitching.
The technique
used most often in my work is called arashi
(storm) shibori. The fine pleats
and patterns suggest rain driven by a high wind. This elegant
pleating is achieved by wrapping and compressing the fabric
around a cylinder; a hot dye bath then sets the pleats.
The fabric
is 100% silk and the dyes used are permanent. To retain the
beauty of a pleated piece, store carefully and protect from
moisture. Pleated shibori pieces may be professionally dry-cleaned.
Kate Beck |
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