Wearable Artist Christine Mariotti's Gorgeous Hand-Painted Cloth Creations

Wearable art combines function, design, and a message or theme. Like a painting, drawing, or sculpture, wearable art is almost always "one of a kind." Wearers present the world with not just an outfit, but a true work of art! FIDM recently presented an exhibit featuring the work of six California wearable artists entitled, "Intuitive Threads: Wearable Art." The artists came to FIDM to speak about their work and present their unique materials, techniques, and inspirations.

Christine Mariotti has taught textile design and illustration in colleges throughout Southern California for 20 years. She is a freelance textile designer and fabric painter for the garment industry and most interestingly, for ballroom dancers and professional ice skaters!

Christine's textile talents keep her torn between two titles that she equally loves: artist and teacher. Her twin passions are reflected in two degrees: a Bachelors in Fine Arts and a Masters in Art Education. While in college, Christine found herself drawn to working on softer and softer surfaces, especially handmade and oriental rice papers. She experimented with textiles but didn't consider fabric her media of choice. When Christine came to California, she spent more and more of her artistic energies on wearable textile creations and finally realized how much she truly loved the medium!

Christine went to work for a business called Textile Resources where she had to research and understand the textile and dye products she sold. Through this, Christine became a "textile guru" and spent lots of time sharing her knowledge with customers who consulted her with confidence. Realizing the demand for her expertise, Christine bought Textile Resources and expanded it into a successful teaching and retail business. For the next 13 years, Christine dedicated herself to the business, yet found her own artistic expression stifled. She decided to give up the intricacies of business and dedicate herself fully to teaching and creating. She now offers an array of wearable art workshops in subjects like silk painting, batik, marbling, and printing.

Two of Christine's creations were on display in FIDM's "Intuitive Threads" exhibit. "Bamboo Fantasy" is a three-piece ensemble made of silk organza and linen on which she hand-painted ethereal bamboo designs. Her "Velvet Dress and Shawl" is a gorgeous draped evening gown in a deep purple silk/rayon fabric called velvet devore. Christine explained the devore process: she chemically burns away velvet on the fabric to create beautiful patterns. She passed around a sample of the devore fabric so everyone could see and touch the effect close up.