Wearable Art and Fine Crafts

dupioni shantung silk jacket by Tim Harding

The artist/design team of Tim and Kathleen Harding are represented in several museums, including the Smithsonian Design Collection at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, as well as celebrity collections including those of Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Wynona Judd and the late Jim Henson. They are featured in the definitive book ART TO WEAR by Julie Schafler Dale.

Tim Harding employs a painterly technique developed by the Impressionists to create incredibly rich colorations, burnished metallic neutrals, iridescent jewel-tones, and deep saturated hues. Multi-layered, densely quilted and hand cut, Harding’s art to wear is carefully crafted using a yarn dyed and hand loomed dupioni shantung silk from India.

Handmade in America.

Shown at Gallery Five.

bias lace, double ruffle, white trim jacket by JES Irie Wear at Gallery Five

At Gallery Five we are celebrating one-of-a-kind and limited edition art to wear and fine crafts handmade in the USA.   Today we are featuring a “white” jacket by Joyce Stewart of JES Irie Wear.

Artist’s Statement
As an artist and designer of wearables, I consider my work as sculpting fabric to flatter the body. I design and create my own patterns. Clothing should flatter the body, so my focus is on originality of design and fit. Different textures are mixed to create wonderful collages in some pieces, while other pieces of my work are stately and classic. The manipulation of machine tension is also used to change the appearance of the fibers. In the past, my work included painting on silk, but I’ve since become allergic to the pigments and had to forgo that element in my work.

I went to the school “MoM” for design and construction of clothing. I am doing what I truly enjoy — creating clothing that makes women feel good about themselves. Custom cutting is a large part of my creations.

A trunk show is a special event within the fashion world in which an artist or designer puts on a special display of his or her work for review by a select group.

Kay Chapman, fabric artist and art to wear clothing designer shows her work in galleries and boutiques nationwide. Kay’s trunk show will be at Gallery Five hrough April 3rd.  She works primarily on natural fabrics – silk, linen, cotton, wool, and bamboo fabrics. Pattern and color are applied to the fabric using direct die techniques. Fabric is usually stretched over bars and painted with either fiber reactive or acid dyes using foam brushes. Dyes are then set by steaming. The fabric is then washed and rinsed and ready to be made into the garment.

Kay creates styles which flatter a woman’s body and are easy to wear.

Enjoy a beautiful, colorful art to wear collection by Patricia Farley.  Signature batik designed shirts and jackets are featured at this week’s Trunk Show, Feb. 23-27, 2010, at Gallery Five in Tequesta, FL.

Patricia Elmes Farley has been making wearable art clothing since 1987. Batik is her favorite technique used to achieve the pattern and color of her fabrics. The wax flows from a traditional tjanting tool, brush or stamp as if it were flowing directly through her fingers. She works quickly, the wax working as both a containment line for the painted dye and as a design element. She mixes her own colors of dye, four or five in each layer and applies them with a brush. Once she starts to paint the fabric the process must continue till it is complete. The batik process is repeated with another layer of wax and dye. The painting is done. After washing, dry cleaning and ironing, the fabric is ready to be cut and sewn into a finished garment. The colors are from dreams and visions about the beauty of everyday objects.

Valentine’s Day is the day we choose to honor the ones we love most and Gallery Five wishes you all a very Happy Valentines Day 2010.

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Ellen Gienger, art to wear clothing designer, dresses a woman so that she feels confident, beautiful, feminine, and one-of-a-kind.  Her designs look great on many different body types from xx-small to xx-large.

Browse our Ellen Gienger wearable art collection.

Hand-dyed silks and metallic accessories and clothing in a broad palette of color and texture

Leni Hoch is a master at dyeing silk in complex and creative ways and transforming it into elegant, shimmering scarves, shawls, jackets and wraps with varying textures that are truly feminine. Her colors are sensitive and rich and change with the seasons.

Leni Hoch’s Wearable Art Fashions
Trunk Show – January 26-30
Gallery Five, 140 Bridge Road, Tequesta, FL

Photo on right:  Bronze crop metallic layered jackets.  Soft Swing with small crinkle crop with scarves.

Photo below: Layered two boleros and light weight crop. Flower and scarf belting.

Make a fashion statement with unique limited editions and one of a kind designer art-to-wear clothing.

Elizabeth Garver Trunk Show Jan. 19-23, 2010
Gallery Five, 140 Bridge Road, Tequesta, FL
Showroom has a unique selection of Jackets, Shirts, Scarves

Soft, flowing, unconstructed jackets and scarves in hand dyed silks with applique details are Elizabeth Garver’s specialty. The carefully contructed and beautifully designed details brings these garments to a new level of aesthetic experience as she offers a selection of distinctive artwear for the woman with an active contemporary lifestyle.

Elizabeth Garver designs limited edition and one-of-a-kind art to wear.

A Louise Blumberg hand painted silk jacket

Louise Blumberg is known for her bold, hand-painted silk jackets, blazers, vests, scarves, and ties. Her vivid patterns range from graphic, ethnic designs to flowing, organic compositions. Each lightweight garment incorporates an exquisite selection of colors for maximum versatility as well as artistic drama.

featuring Louise Blumberg at Gallery Five

Fiber artist, Diane Prekup, creates colorful, one-of-a- kind, exquisitely handmade wearable art. Assembled and sewn, the fiber created is a web-like texture. Her one-of-a-kind creations are assembled with yarns, thread, bamboo, ribbons, silk, nylon, and velvet. She does not use needles, hooks, or a loom in creating her “gypsy lace.” Assembled and sewn, the fiber created is a web-like texture of yarns, suspiciously random in effect but purposeful in design.

An art director for 15 years, Diane made the transition from working with hot glass to working with fabric and fiber. In 2007, she was an American Craft Council NICHE Magazine Finalist in Fiber: Surface Design for her Velvet Shawl. She also won the People’s Choice Award at the 2007 Uncommon Threads Fashion Show in Chicago. She is a member of Florida Craftsman, Handweavers Guild of America, and American Craft Council and teaches classes in textile arts such as scarf painting.

Artists have different modes of expressing their works. Some stamp their artistic signature on wearable art in the form of clothes and accessories that appeal to the sight of anyone who appreciates creative artworks.