Collection: Amy Meltzer
Amy Meltzer, fiber art Cambridge, MA
"For as long as I can remember, I have loved making things with my hands, and have felt excited by color. During the twenty years I worked as a psychologist, I continued to explore various media in both handcrafts and fine arts. Eventually I realized that my deepest passion lay in using color and design, and in creating with my hands.
For a number of years I worked in mixed media collage and printmaking, but I am also drawn to working with textiles. I fell in love with creating color on cloth at a fabric dyeing workshop, and I began dyeing cotton to use in quilts. When I learned how to create pattern on cloth with Shibori techniques, I decided to try those methods on silk, and soon after I started Antrim Street Studio, in 2007.
I hand dye silk scarves and shawls with Shibori techniques. The techniques I use to create patterns in the fabric include folding and clamping shapes to the fabric, wrapping the fabric around a pole or rope, and wrapping the fabric with string. I dye many scarves more than once to create layers of texture and color. Time, temperature, water and pressure all affect how the dye attaches to the fabric, making each piece unique. All are colorfast and washable. My original, contemporary designs range from simple geometrics to complex layering of shapes, patterns with watercolor effects, and organic designs reminiscent of feathers, leaves, herringbone, pebbles and waves."
