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Trunk Show Features Textile Artist Diane Kuehn

Trunk Show Features Textile Artist Diane Kuehn

Diane Kuehn, artist

Artists @ Work Studio and Gallery hosts a trunk show featuring hand-dyed wearable art by artist Diane Kuehn on Saturday, October 26, from 1–5 p.m. On display and for sale will be kimono jackets/shrugs, shawls, scarves and magnetic polymer clay brooches.

“Everyone has a happy place,” Kuehn says. “Mine is when I’m around beautiful textiles.” Through the years she has learned hand-dyeing techniques on fabrics such as silk and wool. Along the way, she fell in love with the challenges of using natural dyes.

“Natural dyes are perfect for creating one-of-a-kind pieces for artists,” she says. “They are a bit more complex to use, but the outcome is worth it.” She recently traveled to Japan to continue her study of shibori, the art of creating textures and resists using dyes, including natural indigo. She spent ten days in a small mountain village outside of Tokyo where her host grew indigo, raised silkworms and reeled and spun silk from cocoons. Kuehn was introduced to multi-generational craftsmen who use traditional techniques. “When you watch an 80-year-old, sixth-generation craftsman kneel on the ground to attend to the cloth in his large, in-ground, traditional fermentation indigo vats, it is a humbling and inspiring experience,” she says. “Much of this influence is reflected in my contemporary interpretation of these designs.”

Trunk Show Features Textile Artist Diane Kuehn

Polymer broaches, Diane Kuehn, artist

Kuehn’s lightweight, magnetic brooches are designed to be used with fine silk fabrics without damaging them. “Because they are lightweight with very strong rare-earth magnets,” she says, “they have become very popular not only for scarves and shawls but also as lapel pins for sweaters, coats and even hats.”

Diane Kuehn will hold a workshop, “Make It and Take It: Silk Scarf Dyeing” on Monday, November 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Artists @ Work Studio and Gallery is located at 51 West Main Street in downtown Brevard. To learn more or to register for the workshop, visit ArtistsWorkingBrevard.com or call 828.577.2719.

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