"The best thing that a human can do in life is to get rid of his separateness and hand himself over to the nature of things - to this mysterious thing called the universal order that any artist must sense. To put yourself in the way of that thing so that you become a vehicle of it - that will be your only merit ..." Will Henry Stevens, American artist (1881 - 1949)
We rarely foresee how our lives will unfold. I would never have guessed, for example, that a weekend workshop taken 20 years ago while on vacation was to become the foundation of my creative expression and the source of my livelihood. However, since 1986, I have been a full-time artist creating prints on paper and silk using the ancient hydro-printing process of marbling.
My continuing fascination with marbling is difficult to put into words. It\'s more than the endless color possibilities and the illusion of instant results. It may have to do with the fact that each print begins with a circle, the fundamental shape of life, or that the process enables me to transform circles into any number of shapes that mimic nature\'s rhythmic designs. Whatever it is, when demonstrating marbling, I have seen the process work its irresistible magic on children and adults from all walks of life as well.
Near Penland School of Craft in western North Carolina lies Indigo Stone Studio, where I continue to use classical patterns of marbling as a point of departure for my own designs. Bold, organic prints on individually dyed silks and various types of paper capture ephemeral moments of harmony by balancing skill with intuition, control with serendipity and form with emptiness. The results produce beautiful wearable accessories, home accents and frameable prints.
Now, in a new direction, I\'ve begun making silk organza wall hangings with an exciting surface design process called vat dye discharge*. Like marbling, a number of variables affect the unique outcome of the images. Each wall hanging consists of two or three panels that have been discharge dyed, featuring variations in design and color. Since the decorated panels are sheer and hang freely by threads from a wall mount so that they visually overlap, the cloth patterns interact, giving the overall artwork a dynamic quality. This is especially so when air currents induce movement and the piece comes alive.
In closing, it is my belief that the traditions and innovations of any medium provide necessary touchstones for the preservation and growth of a process. For this reason I share marbling and other surface design techniques through teaching classes and instructional books and articles.
*vat dye discharge- summary available under \'Process\'