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Varia Cartledge




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Absinthe (photo copyright Rowan McVey)
Mixed media
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Fine millinery

Media: Fiber + Textiles

41 Gibbens Street

MAP # 47


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Millinery work featuring detailed embellishment is an unusual place to find the expression of one's self. But in the hours spent with needle and thread, and the occasional blood-sacrifice to the sewing deities, I find a way to bring a distinctive beauty into the world. Each piece has its own mood, and each collection its own challenges.

This year's collection, Clouds, uses the ephemeral quality of the woven plant material to express fraying, dispersion, entropy. This is contrasted with crisp, precise details to achieve balance and tension, and sometimes playfulness.

Also on display will be works from my 2015 Glamour collection, 2014 "Unisex" collection, featuring tailored menswear detailing, and 2013 "Cocktail" collection.

Late in 2014, as I sat stitching together slippery, difficult satin and heavy, hard to pierce layers of denim, I thought, "what is the point of this? Why am I making this art? What does it add to the world?" What was my effort to join these two conflicting fabrics all for?

The only answer that I had was "I am making it because I can't not make it." What you see when you look at, or try on, one of my hats is an authentic expression of how many beads and sequins there are littering the corners of my psyche. It is glittery up in there.