A lovely couple came in to my studio recently, shortly after I completed this piece and commented that it reminded them of a yellow dress the lady wore on her honeymoon many years ago. Several years ago, I had asked seamstress in Virginia Beach to create a yellow dress for me, from a photo out of a magazine. With no pattern, they created a beautiful copy of the dress - sleeveless with a ruffled V-neckline from only my magazine photo. It looked terrible on me. I gave it to charity. It reinforced my ill-suited sense of style after 24 years of wearing the same khaki uniform every day. I have no idea of elegance or style.

The process for creating these sculpted pieces: A piece of fabric (polyester works well) is drenched in laytex paint which acts as a barrier and adheres the fabric to a canvas. The larger the piece of fabric, the more dynamic the shape becomes. The wet fabric is manipulated around to create peaks and valleys until an interesting shape and texture emerges. Once it is dry, I paint it with oils to create variations in one or more colors.

Exhibited at Fulton Crossing Gallery, Fulton (Santa Rosa), CA

Photographed by Joe McDonald, Digital Grange Studio, Petaluma, CA