Collage Tapestries: painting with fabric
 I have been a painter in oils for the past 35 years. I have also always loved fabric. For 17 years now my studio has been located above a fabric store in an old factory building in Rochester, NY. Often, in the past, when I had spent too many hours contemplating the canvas, I would seek inspiration by roaming the store below looking at all the wonderful colors, textures and designs. It seemed like such a natural evolution for me to eventually incorporate the actual fabric itself into my work along with the painting. I call these works Collage Tapestries and I see the technique as a kind of painting with fabric
I begin each piece as I would an oil painting by stretching canvas over wooden stretchers strips. The entire composition for the work is then drawn onto the canvas in charcoal. Fabric is then cut and pieced to fit into the shapes of the drawing as well as painted with acrylic paints. I layer the work back and forth with fabric and paints until the surface of it is thick and rich in color, pattern and texture.
 When the collage is completed, it is removed from the stretchers and sewn onto a colorful fabric backing. Tabs (much like those on curtains) are sewn onto the top and the piece is suspended from a brass rod. The finished piece can be suspended from a ceiling or loosely from a wall. The effect of this kind of display is a gentle undulation in the fabric as in more conventional tapestries.
The ideas for my Collage Tapestries encompass many different themes from portrait to landscape, from the celebration of the fall harvest to the joy of Judaic festivals. Collage Tapestries are also available as commissions and work wonderfully in public spaces.
Lynne
Feldman
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