Kimono Art Studio

Monday, May 14, 2012

I just finished up with the prestigious Brookside Art Fair here in Kansas City. Being an outdoor show, the weather in springtime is risky business. And unfortunately it was kind of miserable with excessive heat and humidity for 2 days, then torrential rains. Thus the turn out of people as well as sales was less than desired. But all was not lost as I now have a handsome inventory of fantastic lamps. And several of which sold pre-art show to friends who follow my Facebook posts.

All of my lamps are recycled. I hunt for them everywhere. Most all of these are mid-century modern. Meaning that they were of the modern design from the 1940s through the 1960s. I rewire the lamps and replace the bulb sockets. I reuse as much of the vintage hardware as possible to carry on the patina of the vintage piece. And sometimes I literally rebuild the lamp from the base up if I want to add to or remove from the original design for a cleaner aesthetic. I create new shades by either recovering second hand shades that are in good worthy condition or creating a custom shaped shade by recycling frames from damaged shades or with new wire frames and hardback shade material that I source. Then I cover the plain shade with the perfect fabrics or combination of fabrics from my vintage Japanese kimono fabric collection. Some shades have an added detail of ribbon or custom made trim from my fabric collection.

So now I present my latest collection!

Sold!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Decorative Pillows

I have been drawn to and collected a plethora of textiles for over 30 years, most of them vintage in nature. I have an insatiable need to be surrounded by design, texture, color, pattern, be it in nature or man made. I taught myself to sew as a teenager and hold a degree in Fashion Design. I have sold my art at numerous art, fashion and craft shows, retail shops, boutiques and galleries. I owned a vintage clothing store for 15 years and have crewed costume/wardrobe on over three dozen theater productions, commercials, and feature and independent films. Living and designing with vintage textiles, I have been published in numerous local and national magazines and editorials. I am dedicated to beauty and wish only to create more of it for the pleasure of the world to enjoy. In coloring outside the lines I seek to create a metamorphosis using what already exists or has been discarded to re-create something new to behold.

Kimono Art is designed from vintage Japanese kimono, haori and obi…one of a kind…one at a time.The designs and patterns on the fabrics are woven, such as meisen, kasuri, and urishi, or hand painted, hand blocked or screen printed, stenciled, or shibori (hand tied). These patterns and colors are not produced in modern kimono fabrics, thus rendering them unique, coveted and appreciated.

Embellishments may include had dyed and tied silk himo ties that were the original tie closure for the haori jackets, an assortment of new and old ribbons, obi-jime cords, trims, tassels, ancient coins and amulets and beads of stone, porcelain or glass.

Currently my line includes assorted decorative pillows, table or mantle runners, lampshades, wall art, aromatherapy eye pillows, blank greeting cards, purses and neck/head/waist scarves.

I disassemble all the cleaned garments by hand, then iron all the pieces flat before I begin my design process. Once my art is complete, the observer may notice subtle remains of the testimony of the fabrics past life. There may be a faint crease, a teeny line of needle holes from an original hand sewn seam, or a faint smudge or fading. I consider these beauty marks to validate it's historical spirit. They will not detract from the beauty of the piece, only add the patina sought after in unique antiques and one-of-a-kind handcrafted art.