SILK WORK
Starting in the early 1970’s while living in a Tribeca loft, I was befriended by a talented woman artist. Working together we designed and produced women’s wear, selling to small boutiques and even to Bloomingdales! We created our own fabrics by learning to paint with dye on silk and eventually had 6 people working for us. However, the pressure of running a successful business became too much, so I made the break and started to work just on my own. I designed hand painted silk clothing, selling through a gallery on Madison Avenue. See examples below of the hand painted clothing.
This time working alone allowed me to focus on what I really loved, and that was the act of painting! Every time I picked up a brush, I had such a strong freeing sensation, it became my driving passion. Using the dye as paint for coloring the clothing led naturally to the idea of “Why not just make a painting?” No more having to fit design into the figural shape! So, I stretched the silk over a lightweight painting stretcher and began with no idea what would happen.
Beginning in 1976, I created a body of work using dye painting techniques, and ones I invented, as I went along. The same gallery that sold the painted clothing could sell the stretched silk paintings, and my life as an artist began. This became “The Flow Series”. Only 7 pieces are still available from that time. See below.
