For the past 45 years artist, Vicki Idema has worked off and on with fabric or fibers. After I received a BFA in art (with the concentration in fibers) in the mid 70’s, I wove two and three dimensional pieces, as well as clothing and accessories. My work was exhibited in juried shows and sold in galleries along the Oregon coast.

I later returned to school in the late 80’s to study graphic design, and worked as a graphic designer for 12 years in Corvallis, Oregon.

In the recent years I have returned to my love of working with fabrics, and have been exploring the ancient art forms of marbling, shibori, and katazome. Each art form is very time consuming, but the results can be amazing. Even though I plan the designs and colors, there is always the element of surprise with the final product. No two final results are alike.

I enjoy taking ancient art forms to create contemporary art .

How the fabric is created:

Marbling

• paint is applied to water that has been blended with carrageenan, an extract of seaweed

the paint will float as it is lighter than the thickened water

• sticks, combs or rakes stir the paint into an intricate pattern

• a piece of alumed fabric is gently laid onto the surface and it absorbs the floating colors

Arashi Shibori

• also known as pole-wrapping shibori, cloth is wrapped diagonally around a pole

• the cloth is very tightly bound by wrapping thread up & down the pole

• the cloth is scrunched on the pole

• the cloth can then be dyed

- my pieces started with black fabric that were dipped in bleach to remove the color

• where the thread was wrapped bleach is not absorbed and the black color remains

Katazome

• to create a stencil, a design is transferred to a Japanese paper called

shibugami and carved out with a very sharp knife

• fabric is sized with soy milk to prepare for the paste and the dyes

• rice paste resist is pushed through the stencil to define the pattern on the fabric

• the stencil is removed and the paste is left to dry

• natural pigments ~ blended with soy milk which serves as a binder~ are applied

• fabric is left to cure (oxidize) and then the rice paste is simply soaked off in water revealing the design