Susan Marling
Art is best when worn – a guiding philosophy in creating each hand-marbled art garment.
Nature surrounds us with her beauty – a wildflower, an ornate butterfly, the intricate markings of a peacock. Marbling is the perfect medium for transforming these snapshots of beauty and creating patterns that capture nature’s movement – from a rippling stream to a gentle breeze rustling the tree leaves. Susan began marbling 22 years ago. Her love of textiles began as a child when she learned how to sew by watching and helping her mother make her clothes. Marbling was the technique that allowed her to merge her passion for color with her love of sewing. Paul is an avid landscape photographer with a keen eye for color and the interaction of patterns in nature. They are avid hikers and spend many hours in nature – it is the source and inspiration for each art garment. Each garment begins as white fabric, paint and thread. The fabric is marbled by floating paints on a thickened liquid in a large tray. The floating paints are raked and combed into patterns and the piece of fabric is laid on the floating pattern. When it is picked up, the floating pattern is now on the fabric. Susan uses these pieces of fabric to design, cut and sew garments that showcase the marbled patterns.
