Artist: Kathleen Olson Grumich
Artist Medium: Mixed Media
Artist Statement
Since my mother taught me to sew at a young age, I have had a passion for working with beautiful fabrics. I have lived in New Orleans for more than a quarter century, although I had to leave it for a short time to fully appreciate its year-round floral beauty. Semi-tropical flowers and fauna inspire most of my designs. The major focus of my work is hand-painted scarves and shawls and hand-painted, artist-sewn purses. My desire is to produce a beautiful, unique and affordable piece of wearable art which will compliment and enhance my customer’s wardrobe.
My first step is to draw my design on a paper pattern. Many of my designs are drawn from my photographs of natural subjects. Each accessory is unique and one-of-a kind. Although I do reuse my patterns, it is not exactly in the same way.
White silk is my blank canvas. I use both pre-hemmed silk scarves and silk fabric which I have hand finished. I have embellished a few special scarves and shawls with hand-beaded faggoting. Crepe de chine, silk satin, silk chiffon and silk/rayon velvet are all examples of the type of silk I use. For the purses, I use a tight weave, such as silk taffeta, broadcloth or habotai for the painted front.
After transferring the design to the silk and stretching it on a frame, I paint the entire piece of silk, using the
serti technique, wherein a resist is applied to create an enclosed space in which the dye is allowed to flow. In order to achieve the shading giving depth to a motif, I use the watercolor technique, blending colors within the area while the section is still wet. On some, I underpaint free-hand stripes or other designs in the background. Then I paint the main background dye color over the entire background area, creating a shadowy stripe or a subtle pattern to contrast with the main floral design.
I use fiber-reactive dyes, which are mixed with urea, to retard drying, and soda ash, to set the dyes. The dyes must be mixed fresh each time and used within a set number of hours. After painting, the silk is wrapped in plastic and cured to set the dyes. After the dyes are cured, I rinse the excess dyes out of the silk and hand wash it to completely remove all chemicals.
After I have painted the purse fronts, I sew the shoulder bag using my own pattern. The body of the purse is generally a silk doupioni or other substantial silk. All the purses are lined and interlined. When possible, I use vintage buttons and beads as closures and embellishments. Finally, the purses are treated with Scotchgard™ to retard soiling.
I am a juried member of the Louisiana Craft Guild. I am also a former juried member of the Louisville Artisans Guild and the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi. My work has won ALPHA awards from the Fashion Group International of New Orleans, and awards at the Peter Anderson Festival in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and the Jubilee Festival of Daphne, Alabama. I have participated in juried fine craft shows in the Gulf Coast region, local juried Art Markets in New Orleans and Baton Rouge and major juried shows in Louisville, KY.
Kathleen Olson Grumich
Artist Works
Artist Biography
I come from a family who has always valued and accepted creativity as part of life. My grandfather built his home and a 25’ cabin cruiser. My father built our home, was a skilled cabinet maker and made beautiful stained glass for the family. My mother passed on to me a love of almost every type of needlecraft and the ability to draw. That said, I was encouraged to choose a career that was practical and would allow me to support myself. I obtained a BA in Economics, worked in the securities industry in accounting and regulation for seventeen years and spent an additional eleven years as a paralegal.
In 1995, I decided to give my creative side a chance, so that I would not look back on my life with any regrets. My love of design and beautiful fabrics led me to try hand painting on silk, which I began doing on a part-time basis. I am self-taught. In 2001, I resigned my paralegal position and became a full-time artist. At first, I used silk paints, but have since graduated to using fiber-reactive dyes. My initial designs were heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau era. Although still an influence, most of my designs I now draw from photographs I have taken of local flowers.
My art continues to evolve as I add additional designs to my portfolio and experiment with different silk weaves and scarf sizes. I am an avid student of fashion, both current and that of the first half of the 20th century. I naturally observe colors and shapes I encounter. My continuing goal is to create a bit of glamour in wearable art for today’s world.
Location: New Orleans, LA
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