Afternoon Tea

Supported by a MN State Arts Board grant, I worked with three different museums to pull overlooked objects from their collection and guide community workshops creating fabric designs inspired by them. This piece was inspired by an exhibition at the Museum of Russian Art featured work by dissident or “unofficial” artists during the late 1950s. 

I was struck by a story from the exhibition about an artist who, when he ran out of paint, would use food to make art. Inspired by that story and this painting, Blue Face by artist Pavel Tsepelinsky (photo), I created an original paper collage using tea, fennel seeds, quinoa, and other found objects. I scanned the collage and used it to create this abstract floral fabric design.

Digitally printed faille, assorted poly and nylon novelty fabrics, hand beaded with vintage pearl beads and sequins