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I was born in the Pacific Northwest. When I was young, I lived with my family for several years in the South Pacific where, for the first time, I was aware of the existence of cultures other than my own. I studied art at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State College in the 60's. I have been working as an artist in fiber since 1964 when I began an inspirational transistion from multi-media sculpture to sculptural weaving. Eventually my feelings for sculpture on the loom overlapped with an antique clothing business that I owned in the 70's, allowing me to create sculptural garments of my own design from vintage and unusual fabrics. I worked for many years in this mode, but finally gave in to the desire to create my own colors and textures on the fabric. My affinity for velvet began with a trunk of antique clothes from my grandmother's Victorian closet and my mother's Flapper closet, that was given to me when I was twelve. Antique silk-velvet was a specialty in my vintage clothing shop. Instruction and intensive experimentation in dyeing yielded this, my current line of hand-dyed silk-velvet wearables. The dyeing techniques I use on the velvets and silks create the textures I am drawn to in nature. Arashi, itajime and mokume shibori, dextrin (a vegetable paste) resist, photo silk screens, discharge , devore (burnout), dye-painting and other experimental processes are employed either alone or in combination. In the world of art forms, I am particularly drawn to pottery and the wonderful range of glazes, including raku crackle glazes. In the world of nature, I am drawn to textures and surface patterns- streams in motion, branches, bark, wind patterns on water, sand dunes, land formations seen from a height, cracking ice. I am moved by the interaction and blending of colors. My experience of these patterns and the relationships of colors inspires in me an awe and mystery in my life and in my work. I seek out techniques for my dyeing and fabric treatment that keep this awe alive. May we all share this inner condition of serenity and awe.

Photography: Model:Emily Barzin

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