Karen Lyons

 

Fiber Artist

Originally born and raised in Florida, I have lived in suburbs of Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta, but love living in the Pacific Northwest where the mountains meet the water. A great place to live for inspiring my other interests in photography, watercolor, and pen and ink. I did not take art classes in school, however discovered a passion for art when helping our son in Cub Scouts which later progressed into painting and dyeing on silk in 2002.

When painting on cotton for wall hangings and quilts, I discovered it was more interesting to use silk which was the beginning of my love for creating wearable art. Jacquard Green and Red Label dyes and Dye-na-Flow fabric paint are my products of choice. Different textures and weights of silk change the decision of what product to use. After stretching the silk, a design using clear gutta, metallic resist, or a tjap/tjanting tool dipped in soy wax (batik effect) is applied, then dye or paint using watercolor and acrylic brushes. For special effects, a variety of different salts are sprinkled on the wet dye. While the silk dries, the dyes "migrate" into complex shapes and color combinations. Shibori adds visual texture to the silk. Always a surprise no matter what combinations are used. After drying, the scarf is steamed to set the color, then washed and ironed. Morning is the best time for me to design and paint in my garage studio in Marysville, Washington. Thank you for your interest in wearable art.