Featured Artist : Nicole Frazer

In addition to making watercolors and monotypes, for the past year and a half, I have been vigorously learning a new way of painting and printing, by working on silk and creating wearable art. This new textile adventure is my passion, and it is also the first time I am representing my own art within a small business. I am excited about using plants to create dyes. I do this by steaming plant materials in a process called bundle dying, or by preparing small dye pots where avocado pits yield a pink, and black beans make blue. The natural dye process requires prepping the fibers by scouring and boiling them in a mordant. I buy the silks from Dharma Trading Co. or find ways to up-cycle silk and cotton. The freedom and satisfaction I feel when painting on silk is definitely a culmination of all my past experiences in art, and I get to make beautiful things that people can wear. I look forward to seeing my work on silk presented in new ways.