Botanical Printing-Heat Press Method

I am a passionate fiber artist. For over 20 years I have been drawing inspiration from our Colorado environment. I started with white silk fabric, which I paint, dye and sew to create one of a kind art. I now use natural dyes and have started using botanical items to create designs. I always loved fabric, sewing and dressing up. From the time I was a little girl my grandmother and mom taught me to sew. In fact they made all my clothes double since I have a twin sister. By our teens my sister could tailor coats. Not me! I was always trying different ways to make spectacular clothes. I combine my love of sewing with the vibrant world of colors on silk. I create art hangings, seasonal silk scarves, felted shawls and jackets. Each year I learn a new technique. Several years ago I studied Shibori, a Japanese method of creating patterns on fiber. More recently, fascinated with Nuno-Felting, I have begun combining silk painting and felting using native Coloradan alpaca fibers to create unique shawls and jackets. Most recently I fell in love with botanical printing on all kids of fabric, from cotton to linen and using vintage and new. I am an active member of the DBG-Chatfield Janice Ford Memorial Dye Garden. We maintain a garden of plants from which we make natural dyes. I use these dyes in all of my art. These natural dyes led me to botanical printing using leaves, flowers and seeds to create designs on natural fabrics. Using both the steam bundle method and heat presses, along with natural dyes, Botanical Printing classes are my favotite to teach. In my studio in North Boulder I create a variety of fiber art. I teach dyeing, silk painting, Shibori, Nuno-Felting, and botanical printing. I have taught and done demonstrations at the Taos Fiber Market, the Estes Park Wool Market, Salida Fiber Festival and the Center for the Arts Evergreen as well as for groups of fiber artists, including Fall River Fibers in Hot Springs, SD. Professional Associations Rocky Mountain Handweavers Guild (RMWG) Janice Ford Memorial Dye Garden – Denver Botanic Gardens-Chatfield Boulder Handweavers Guild (HGB) Womens Caucus of Art (WCA-CO) North Boulder Art District (NoBo)