Lambent Thoughts

More about Laura Beehler's art cloth "Lambent Thoughts."

This piece consists of layered silk organza created with deconstructed screen printing, stencil printing, paint stick and colored pencil. Here's what Laura has to say about the piece and her process:

"'Lambent Thoughts' evolved during a period where I was having problems concentrating on any one project or thought as there were so many to deal with. My thoughts were jumbled and on a rampage through my mind. 'Lambent Thoughts' became the fleeting glimmer of thought that streamed in and out of my mind. Just beyond my grasp to hold on to and solidify the thought.

"My work has evolved from very timid and shy to the reckless abandonment of preconceived ideas. It has become very intuitive and spontaneous with my next steps guided by what is taking place on the fabric. In my current body of work I use a deconstructed screen method which is applying dye to screens, letting it dry in the screen and then releasing it onto the fabrics. This gives me an unplanned array of colors, marks and textures that are very organic in nature. I let the cloth guide me as I lay down additional marks to accent and enhance the emerging story.

"I continue to work with lengths of fiber and the application of dyes through various screens to apply color and design to the fibers. There seems to be endless, unpredictable possiblilites with this technique and I have many areas that have not yet been explored."

Deconstructed screen printing is a open-ended and spontaneous technique for letting the cloth and imagery lead the way. This meeting of mind and technique is what makes Laura's work sing for me. Her willingness to follow the imagery as is develops on the page is like watching someone wander onto a path along a beautiful coastline or along a mountain ridge.