Sometimes it feels like an image does not want to lie flat on paper. While still two- dimensional, “printing” on fabric adds a sense of motion and texture.
The first images I printed this way were from a trip to India. That country is all about textures. I printed on silk which made the images float, shifting as people moved by them, as doors or windows opened and closed – like the saris and kurta suruwal worn everywhere.
A few years later, I was asked to create a set of banners for the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) annual conference in Raleigh. These images needed to be sturdier, so I printed on linen and cotton. They were not as fluid as silk, but still added a feeling of motion to the sounds evoked by the instruments, pickers and singers.
I have also included a fabric piece called “border crossing” – a collage on cotton about the movement of the people from Mexico to Chapel Hill, from the desserts of Mexico to the construction of my own home.
