SDA Fashion Show

I felt there was some confusion in the focus of the fashion show. There were fashion garments that showed a wide range of surface design techniques but there were also wearable art garments, garments one wouldn't wear out in the street. The image shows Jess Larson's (Minnesota) used tea bag and paper jacket - a wearable art garment....

... the audience thoroughly enjoyed. The judges even gave a wearable art garment the SDA Award - Penny Collins' (California) 'Gown for Great Pacific Garbage Patch Ball' made from plastic bags.

After the show there was as much entertainment in studying the fashion garments worn by audience members.

These 2 beauties floated in Carter Smith creations.

Carter Smith - SDA Fashion Show

The feature artist of the Surface Design Association Members' Fashion show was Carter Smith, a shibori artist who has been at his craft for 40 years.

The fashion show began with 6 of his hand dyed silk garments, most of them bias cut so they moved on the body beautifully.

To quote Leesa Hubbell, as quoted in the show catalogue: "All kinds of women respond to [Smith's] shibori-psychology - the bourgeois bohemians, the goth girls, priestesses, poets, shamans, singers, movie stars, wealthy philanthropists, ladies who lunch..."

This was an entry that made everyone laugh - Della Reams' (from Doha, Qatar) 'Houndstooth Hound Crisscross Dress' with a humorous repeating dog pattern. The cashmere, merino wool and silk yarns were machine knitted. It must feel so lovely to wear.

SDA Fashion Show

My favourite winner of the SDA 'Bodies of Water' Members' Fashion Show - Marliss Jensen, from Minneapolis, called her 2 outfits - 'Homages to Yves and Yves'.

She made body prints on cotton knit using Procion H fiber reactive dye.
Sorry the images are not clear and are not taken from the right angles to really show off the garment. My best shot was looking at the back of the garments but I had to then dodge a spot light.

Beth Kendrick, also from Minneapolis, won 1st place with 'Lucette', a hand dyed, painted, discharged embellished dress.

The waving black scarf stuffed into the top of the corset appeared to be a last minute addition for modesty's sake. It was distracting trying to work out why it was there and wondering if it would fall out before the model got back behind the screen. So we didn't get time to really look at the garment.

Jane Kenyon @ SDA

In the same gallery as Clare, Jane Kenyon is exhibiting a collection of large machine embroidered works she calls 'Transformation'.

Jane Kenyon is another artist whose work makes the viewer dance as they move back and forward, changing perspectives from macro...

 ...to micro.

These images don't even begin to give the impression of the depth, complexity and flow of of Jane's stitching. 

Clare Verstegen @ SDA

Clare has an exquisite body of work called 'Atmospheric Measures', in the Joan Mondale Gallery at the Textile Centre www.textilecentermn.org, here in Minneapolis.

(these are terrible images of some of the work)

She screen prints on thick industrial felt made of wool, which means she can then have fun with her other favourite technique....

...burning.

She takes the burn marks around to the edges of each work, which is most satisfying to discover.
Notice, above, her purpose-build hanging system that is in such harmony with her felt work.

SDA Presenter - India Flint

India Flint's knowledge and her sense of humour were well received during the SDA conference.

She finished her presentation by unwrapping a bundle of Minneapolis bio-metal materials she had collected during her city wanderings and steamed in her hotel room.

The Minneapolis Cloth

Tim Harding @ SDA

Another favourite exhibition at the SDA conference I attended is Tim Harding's work, also showing at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery.

These stapled squares of brown knit fabric....

...and this fabric pushed and poked through a grid....

...needs to be viewed from a distance to see the images.

There are large hanging panels composed of mosaics of squares, equally intriguing and effective.
 

India Flint @ SDA Conference

Another 'favourite' exhibition at the SDA conference is India Flint's 'the WindFallMaps' exhibit in the Katherine E. Nash Gallery www.nash.umn.edu

Each garment has been printed and dyed with plant materials and metals found in a specific place.

So each is like a map or visual record of a place and time.

Floating garments are hung with hems at viewers' eye level so we felt dwarfed by evidence of places the garments came from. It was all quite ethereal.

Jason Pollen "Sentinels"

Jason Pollen, a founding member of the Surface Design organisation, has an exhibition of work in The Christensen Center Art Gallery. this was one of my favourites in the day of exhibition visits.

It was the day of the opening reception and Jason was there. We were able to ask him questions and hear him  talk about his work.

He is a master of surface design techniques so his is the sort of work where the viewer moves back and forth in front of the work to get distance then to get close enough to enjoy the details

In the gallery space it looks like a dance is going on.