Louisiana Wildflowers

With ‘The Natural World’ as a theme, I knew I wanted to lean into the nature right around me. I live in rural north Louisiana where we always have something growing/blooming. Nature is the backdrop to every day, so why not celebrate it. I decided to work with natural fibers from my stash. I was drawn to the evening dresses of the 19teens and drafted something more inspired by them rather than a direct copy. The layered skirt reminded me of the petals of a flower and the wrap style was reminiscent of the base of the flower which opens and supports the petals.

I learned that you can “print” images onto fabric with a cyanotype mixture. I love the blue color produced by the photo-reactive dye and used plants from my yard to print onto the silk base layer. Next I discovered some wild flowers on my daily drive and translated them to an embroidery pattern. The large white/pink flowers are Swamp Rose Mallows a relative of the Hibiscus. They grow wild along waterways in the fall. The smaller purple flowers are a weed similar to Morning Glory called Purple Passion Flower and they bloom in late summer. It was fun to learn something of the flowers commonly seen on my daily commute while immortalizing them in thread. Machine embroidery on the middle layer of the skirt hinted at the many wild flowers growing along the side of the road year round.