Judith Content creates colorful fiber art with her hand-dyed silk fabrics that she over-dyes and discharges to create visual interest. Her work has evolved over the years and now she uses her silk scraps to create colorful landscape installations.
How does your environment influence your work?
Growing up in New England with an artist mother made me especially sensitive to colors in the landscape. I remember, in the depth of winter, we would look for subtle colors in the dark grey sky (lavender, jade), bare tree branches (peach and violet), and shadows in the snow (indigo).
I moved to Northern California as a senior in high school. This upended my life, in a good way, exposing me to undreamed of sources of inspiration. To name a few: cultural influences from around the globe: architecture, cuisine, clothing, textiles, landscape, nature, and new ways to look at color, texture, pattern, and design.
Color is a vital source of inspiration for me. My husband and I like to travel in the quest of color. We have some favorite colorful destinations that we visit often, such as Crater Lake in Oregon, for its deep velvety blue and New Mexico for its aquamarine skies, golden aspens, and spicy colorful mesas, canyons and arroyos.
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Sometimes we stumble on what we call a colorful phenomenon, such as super blooms of wildflowers or the preserved ochre mines in Rouissillon France. Inspiration is everywhere, even in the spice aisle at the grocery store and the mounds of vegetables at the farmer’s market.
Describe your creative space.
I have two creative work spaces. One is my studio. It is attached to my home, a short commute from the kitchen.
Once upon a time, it was a two-car garage, then a neighborhood preschool. At that point, it was renovated with big windows, plenty of shelves, storage, and floor space. When I moved in, in 1991, I painted the walls white, put in resilient carpeting, and built a design wall. The design wall is made of white denim fabric, staple-gunned to the ceiling, and free hanging. I easily can pin my hand-dyed silks to the denim when auditioning fabric for a composition.
My studio is a quiet, meditative space. That doesn’t mean it’s not colorful though.
At the moment I am doing a great deal of hand-stitching on small sculptural components. I am using many different kinds of fibers to stitch with and I like to have them all out where I can see them. I have perle cotton and sewing thread stored in typeset drawers. I have machine embroidery thread (used for hand-stitching) stored in a huge bamboo steamer. Baskets, wooden boxes, trays and pottery bowls also store supplies.
I can’t work in visual chaos, however, so even though there is a lot going on in the studio I keep everything orderly. I have Japanese Tatami mats covering all my tables, and anything unnecessary is stored away under there.
My other creative work space is my backyard. This is where I do my dyeing, discharging, mono-printing, painting, and anything else that is wet and messy.
I work at a picnic table, under large market umbrellas. One of the nice things about living in Northern California is the weather. I can work outdoors pretty much all year around. I love working outside. I love the light, air, and bird song.
When you prepare for a creative session, how do you decide which project to work on? Do you work on more than one project at a time? How often do you begin a new project?
If I am on deadline for a show, etc., that project takes priority. Otherwise I follow my instincts about what I want to do most, within the time allotment I have available.
Work/creative time is precious and I try very hard to preserve as much of it in my day as possible. Right now I have more time available to me to work, than in times past when I was a caregiver to my mother or the mother of a child. My daughter is grown now and my mom has passed away, and my husband is recently retired and assumed many of the daily chores that I never much liked. (cooking, shopping) We both love to work in the garden, take hikes, and travel.
I usually have many projects going at once. Right now I have an art quilt in progress on the design wall as well a multiple sculptural projects going on at once. I find that moving around from one project to another is good for my creativity as well as my hands, allowing them to rest.
I begin new projects all the time. Ideas come to me at odd moments. Sometimes I just have to drop everything to try something out and see how it really works/looks/functions. Many of my spontaneous projects are simply experimental. Some lead to entirely new and unexpected paths. Either way is fine.
How do you know when a project is finished?
My eyes know that when a project is done, they feel happy. That said I usually have to let them take a break from a project to see that project clearly. If the work is on the design wall, I literally leave the studio. The first thing I see upon returning to the studio is the design wall and I know immediately if the work in progress is done or needs something. Figuring out what it needs can be tricky, but if it’s done, down it comes to quilt, hem, etc.
Deciding if a sculptural project is complete is much the same. I rest my eyes and look at the project as if I have never seen it before.
Do you prefer the kind of project that is challenging or meditative?
BOTH!
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is the most challenging?
My work involves several process, and I love them all. By the time I am tiring of one process it is inevitably time to start another.
First comes the dyeing. I am fascinated by dyeing in all its infinite variations. I usually focus on contemporary and unique approaches to arashi-shibori dyeing in my work. I also explore discharging – removing color. I work intuitively, letting each dye session inform the next. I don’t take notes or create samples. I let the colors, patterns, and designs emerge through both practice and experimentation.
Creating the composition: Over the course of several weeks, a collection of silks are dyed, discharged, over-dyed, and dip-discharged, and finally strewn on the studio floor at the base of my design wall. I pin the silks to my design wall, study and move them around, tear/cut them up, and constantly refine the composition. When my eyes are happy the pieces are sewn together, and quilted by machine. I quilt as if I am drawing on the surface of the quilt, accentuating portions, adding color and definition, texture and relief.
Creating the composition is the most challenging part for me. It’s similar to making a new friend. Will it be a passing acquaintance or someone who will be a part of my life forever? In the case of an art work, there has to be a lasting bond or there is no real point in making it.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?
I have ideas for pieces fermenting in my mind for a while and they usually emerge from the dye pot.
For instance, Northern California has experienced many devastating wildfires in recent years. I found myself dyeing silks in deep shades of red, cadmium, crimson, and vermillion. Black crept into the palette. Pieces titled Aftermath and Fire Season ensued.
What triggered the evolution to new media/kinds of work/ways of working?
My work has evolved over the years from wearable art, large-scale site specific commissions to more intimate work for the wall, all composed of my hand-dyed arashi-shibori silks.
The most recent change came in 2020 as a result of unanticipated working restrictions due to health issues and the Covid pandemic.
Unable to work in the way I was used to, I turned to my scraps and I began creating whimsical sculptural compositions and ephemeral land art. I had never thrown an ounce of silk away so I had tons of silk to work with.
I found that recycling, reusing and reimagining my own hand-dyed silks to be restorative and fulfilling. I am now back to dyeing, painting, and printing like before, but reconsidering my materials and processes is now an important part of my daily creative practice. I’m looking forward to finding out what comes next!
Where can people see your work?
[email protected]
Instagram @judith_content
YouTube:
Textile Talks: Ephemeral Land Art with Judith Content
Craft in America, Quilts Episode
Interview posted June 2024
Browse through more inspiring fiber art on Create Whimsy.