Skip to main content

Dress Art

I discovered the art of Katherine Allen-Coleman at an art fair a few years back.  She displayed canvases with actual clothing glued to them.  She painted over, around, and even on top of the clothing.  For me, nothing in the entire fair compared to her work.  I could not stop thinking about it.  I contacted her and asked her a few questions about the process and she was very gracious with her answers.

You are getting the idea.  I just had to try this.  And so I did.  I had this little dress from my childhood and, really, what was I going to do with it?  Why not have some fun with it.  I stretched it out on a canvas and....

this is how it looked glued to the canvas.  I then painted the background.

It stayed like this for a very long time.  Somewhere along the way I painted the dress white.  Then I got busy and it just sat there.  I needed time to sit with it and let it tell me what to do next. But I never seemed to have that time.  Well, now I do. So I pulled that canvas from the back burner.



It didn't get to this stage without a few tries.  It evolved over a few days and the colors changed as it evolved.  I wish I would have taken pictures of the process but I didn't and it's too late now.


This is the part I added today.  I'm thinking it is finished but maybe I will think differently tomorrow. 

There is one more dress canvas I want do that involves a grown-up dress.  I still have my wedding dress from 40 years ago.  I shortened it years ago to wear to a formal dinner/dance which means it could fit on a canvas.  Why not?

While you are waiting for that post you might want to check out my inspiration for this project.  You can see Katherine Allen-Coleman's dress paintings here.

I am linking to: www.savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

                                         

Comments

  1. Courtney ~ French Country CottageSeptember 15, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    This is darling~ I love old dresses too- what a beautiful way to display them. Would love for you to come share this at Feathered Nest Friday! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Vicki DresteSeptember 16, 2011 at 6:42 AM

    Love it A great way to preserve the past.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On The Upswing

After the last post, it seemed a good idea to do a follow up post to report that things are moving along nicely. This shot was taken before the remodel started.  The door at the end of the hallway leads into the bath now being remodeled. This is where the changes started.  The trim is off the doorway and the door opening will be enlarged to the width of the hallway. This shot taken of that same area now looks like this.  By closing the entrance from the hallway, that bathroom will now be the master bath by keeping the entrance from the bedroom only. This is how it looks from the bathroom side.  the door on the left leads to the hallway and the one on the right into the bedroom. Now it looks like this.  Part of the hallway has become part of the bathroom.  This is where the vanity will be installed.  The partial doorway you see on the right leads to the bedroom. Turning 180 degrees and looking across the room to the opposite corner, you see the window and the en
182 comments
Read more

Out of No Where

Isn't it uncanny how a project can sneak into an already crowded schedule? Recently a friend invited me to do a walk through on a two-family he was planning to buy.  A couple pieces of furniture had been left behind and they were dumpster material to him.  Did I go with him thinking there was something there for me?   NO. Was I looking for something in particular? NO.  Did the thought of finding a new project ever cross my mind? NO!  But, see for yourself.  Could you have passed this up?  It was sturdy (translates to a little heavy). There was nothing wrong with it.  It even had all the shelves and the pins that hold them in place.  And without the shelves it was not quite as heavy.  (Try telling me that as my friend and I are hauling it down a flight of stairs.)  More shelving on the side made it even more practical.  I'm sure they could be used for something besides VHS tapes. Here it is in my studio where I could do a complete assessment.  Looks like a good cleaning
6 comments
Read more

Small Storage Containers RECYCLED

 With the way grocery products have skyrocketed this past year, it has somehow made the containers they come in seem more valuable. To be transparent, I have always saved glass jars from jam, pickles, and spaghetti sauce.=) You know, small, medium and large. I also saved yogurt cups, sour cream containers, etc. When I was painting furniture and mixing colors, the small containers came in handy. This past summer I got a good laugh when I found a stack of yogurt containers in the back of a cabinet in my studio...at least 60! Needless to say those made it into the trash. More recently I have collected a fair amount of plastic containers with lids that are similar to the food saving containers you buy for that purpose. These are fairly large, about 5x7 inches and approximately 3" deep. They are great for leftovers but also good for storing a multitude of other smallish items. The bottoms are see through which makes them perfect for organizing hobby/craft and workshop items. But once a
Post a Comment
Read more