Artist: Diane Kuehn
Diane Kuehn
Specializing in Wearable Art
“My natural curiosity drives me to constantly try new things. The possibilities are endless.”
An emphasis on color, textures and patterns can be found throughout my work, which includes both jewelry and wearable fiber art.
Cloth has historical roots and ethnic flavors that excite me. My lifelong appreciation and love of handmade textiles motivated me to explore historical and contemporary methods for embellishing cloth. I primarily use two dying methods in my work today: Shibori and Contact Botanical Printing, sometimes called Eco-Printing.
My inherent curiosity and love for learning set me on a path to study under some top international artists. My most recent adventure involved traveling to Japan to explore their centuries old textile traditions and studying the art of Shibori, which involves folding and binding fabric to create resists, resulting in intricate patterns and textures when dyed. Witnessing their culture, learning the history, practicing the art, and meeting local artisans was one of the highlights of my life. Although I practiced Shibori before going to Japan, it is now cemented in my designs.
When I learned you could dye cloth with leaves and plants, I became very excited to join my two loves: textiles and plants. After collecting many of the leaves in my own garden, the pigments in the plants are transferred to fabric with direct contact and heat. The unpredictable nature of eco-printing ensures each piece is truly an original.
Working with polymer clay allows me to create unique one-of a kind jewelry pieces which complement my fiber work. I offer a line of polymer clay magnetic scarf or lapel brooches and other jewelry.
