Silkworm Magazine, Volume 24, Issue No. 2, Summer 2017

A Room With A View is our theme for the summertime.  Doen't it sounds absolutely delightful?  The novel by E.M. Forester - and the movie that shares its name - features two proper single English ladies - one older, one younger, who make a journey onto the continent. When we first see them, they have arrived in Italy – Florence to be exact.  They have requested, but not received, rooms with a view. Two traveling gentlemen, a father and son, offer their rooms. What need do men have of a view?  But if one is an artist, everything. Looking at the nature bounding outside of an open window can be the first leap of inspiration to create from everything the eye can drink in.  In this, the Summer issue, we take a look at various views, from outside your window with Carolyn Doe to various fashion savvy ladies and their creations. Traci Paden tells her inspirational story about how she became a professional artist despite discouragement along the way.  Julianne Bramson shares some details from her book about bias cut sewing and SPIN member Debra Dolsberry – a student of Bramson’s - shares her own creations and teaches
how to use a simple pattern to make a fabulous garment.

Silkworm Cover - V24 No. 2

 

 

In This Issue

Traci Paden

Piano Scarft by Traci Paden

Finding the Sweet Spot
by Traci Paden

I remember, in vivid color, the first time I picked up a brush, filled with dye, and touched it to silk. The intense richness, the hand of the fabric – I felt I had discovered magic. I began to think about silk painting all the time. It invaded my dreams at night. That discovery was 23 years ago and I became so passionate about painting on silk that 16 years ago, in 2001, I made it my full-time career.

I have always been an artist. I remember hiking in the woods of Vermont as a child with my mother and my sketch pad. I would create anytime, anywhere and with anything – life as a medium. When people asked, I always told them I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I was always met with varying degrees of “that is not possible.” My high school art teacher told me to pick a different career path. I looked for something practical, yet artistic, and found theatre design (much to my parents’ dismay).

(To read more, go to Vol. 24, Issue No. 2.)

 

Jane Doe - There Was A Time

There Was A Time by Carolyn Doe

A Room With A View with Carolyn Doe
by Tunizia Abdur-Raheem

 

Carolyn Doe is an accomplished artist with batik being one of her specialties. Many of her pieces call to mind a view one might see from the window - whether cooling it in a mountain forest or spying a bird in a city garden.


Carolyn began working in batik on silk over 25 years ago.  Like all artists who work with silk, she fell in love. “When dye touches silk fabric it spreads like crazy. The wax creates a boundary. It is this dance of control/no control that captivates me for hours. Through this ethereal quality, I try to convey the essence of a place and of the creatures who dwell there.  She is now venturing onto new paths with oils which she also uses on silk. “I took a class on palette knife painting in oils. Thick textures and vibrant colors. A whole new world is now revealing itself to me thru this medium.”  We caught up with Carolyn to ask a few questions about her loves and art.

(To read more, go to Vol. 24, Issue No. 2.)

Julianne Bramson - Bias Cut Dress

Bias Sewn Dress, Julianne Bramson

Sewing on the Bias
with Julianne Bramson

 

Julianne Branson has written a book about create bias-cut clothing. She undertook this venture with her business partner, Susan Lenahan. Their book is called Bias Cut Blueprints A Geometric Method for Clothing Design and Construction. The Silkworm caught up with Bramson to find out what led her to the bias design.


Bramson has been sewing since she was 12 years old. She learned, like many American girls, in junior high school home economics classes. She does have a B.A. in Fashion Design from Sacramento State University. After college, she landed a job in a theatre costume department. She says about her experience in the theatre, “The majority of my technical sewing skill comes from working with a sewing technician in the theatre costume department. I learned a lot more at that job than in the classroom.”

(To read more, go to Vol. 24, Issue No. 2.)

Debra Dolsberry - Bias Cut Blouse

Bias Blouse, Debra Dolsberry

 Dressing the Curve
Debra Dolsberry

When I first started painting on silk, I painted yardage and constructed garments. I came to like a simple bias cut blouse or dress with a flattering draped neckline.

Julianne Bramson and Susan Lenahan’s Bias Cut Blueprints: a Geometric Method for Clothing Design and Construction has the perfect solution for creating a range of great bias garments. All garments start with a rectangle of fabric which is then sewn into a tube. This tube forms the main body of a blouse, dress, or skirt. The beauty of this method is that the straight edges of the fabric are sewn together to form a tube of fabric which hangs on the bias. The side seams are replaced by diagonal seams which wind around the body.

I modified the basic tube to form a draped neck blouse and use this pattern throughout this article.

As a silk painter, I was interested in creating fabrics that would be flattering and unusual. I often design my fabrics to have a motif which goes along the draped neckline in front, then down one shoulder toward the opposite knee. The back might have a similar pattern either going diagonally across the body or straight down from one shoulder. I also like to do a large motif such as a monstera leaf in front with several smaller leaves on the back, sometimes combining it with a cascade of flowers to draw the eye.

 

(To read more, go to Vol. 24, Issue No. 2.)

See previous issue