THE DYER’S HAND
Barbara Ramsey and Mary Tyler, curators
Mid-November 2019 thru Mid-January 2020
These fiber pieces are the work of two local artists, Mary Tyler and Barbara Ramsey. Both are fabric dyers, quilters, and sewists. Mary primarily uses fiber reactive dyes and resist techniques; Barbara employs botanical printing methods as well as fiber reactive dyes. Several of these pieces are the product of collaborations between the two women, while others represent individual efforts.
Fractured City Sunset
This quilt was made by Barbara and features orange-red fabric dyed by Mary. Many of the smaller pieces of fabric in the quilt’s center were dyed by Barbara, but the main visual impact comes from Mary’s layered way with dye, discharge, and ingenuity.
The Patience of Spiders
This quilt is a collaboration between Mary and Barbara. Mary first treated some black fabric with a resist of wheat paste, then removed portions of the paste with combs and sticks while the paste was still wet. After the paste had dried into a hard surface, she “cracked” it by crumpling the stiffened fabric. Next she treated it with a bleach-like substance that removed color from the area where the paste had been removed or cracked, and finally she rinsed out all the wheat paste, leaving the fabric soft and pliable.
Barbara saw the fabric, immediately got an idea for cutting it and combining it with some of her own hand-dyes, and “The Patience of Spiders” was born.
Most of what you see in the window is for sale. For purchase info, please contact: bramsey53@gmail.com