Painted Hankie Scarves, Finishing Up For Now

 

I didn’t get to my studio today.  I spent the morning mailing out my Painted Hankie Scarves.  Thanks to all of you who bought them, they sold out quickly.

I made almost forty scarves in all and spent the month of January painting the hankies, sewing them together, and selling and mailing them out.

What a great way to start the year.

But as much as the idea for the scarves came to me in a dream about a squiggly line, it really began about two years ago when my friend Emily came to my studio and we did Geli printing together.

It was then that I first thought of painting on the hankies, but rejected the idea for a few reasons.

One of them was that I had no idea what I would paint and I had never painted on fabric before.  The other was that it seemed like the process would be too time-consuming.  That I would have to spend so much time painting on the hankies, whatever I created from them would be too expensive to sell.

So it took about two years for me to unconsciously work through the idea before I came up with a way to do it.  In those years, I started playing around with painting on fabric so when I decided to paint the hankies, I was comfortable using the paint.  And I certainly know how to make scarves from Vintage Hankies, I’ve been doing that for years.

I know at some point I will have the urge to paint more hankies and make more scarves or maybe even a quilt from them. I love working black on white with the subtle grays that bleed through.  But I can imagine working with some colors too.

Not now though.

I have learned that I don’t have to push my ideas. To trust that they will come when they are ready. So I’ll move on to something else on Monday.  I already have a few thoughts about what that may be.

 

2 thoughts on “Painted Hankie Scarves, Finishing Up For Now

  1. Maria I have been mesmerized by your painted hankie designs. They are so reminiscent of mid century hard edge abstract art which I love. Each is so unique and a work of art in itself. When the designs are combined they are truly mesmerizing (that word again!). I’ve enjoyed looking at each scarf and glad you post them.

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