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My approach varies with the subject matter. I am interested in everything! I love to explore many different styles and techniques. I like to experiment with a variety of styles from abstract to representational and from structured to de-structured. My inspirations can range from a thought, to direct sketching to historical imagery I have researched to photographs. Because I have always been fascinated with weave design I sometimes like to create different weave textures and integrate them into my designs. Computer weaving is how I initially began converting over to digital design. I have been limited to an Epson 3000 with Jacquard acid dyes and silks. I have the wide-scale fabrics printed in China directly from Photoshop files. Originally I used only hand techniques, over time I have transferred my traditional skills over to digital format. It is still possible to get the textural effects I love (weaving, felting, fabric painting, etc ) via digital design. I can scan in traditionally developed material and develop pieces from that. For instance for development of the design titled "Embedded Patterns," I scanned in a piece of shibori fabric I created. From this small piece of fabric I developed a 42" by 27" single repeat that was used for fabric yardage. The works I submitted for this exhibit represent some examples of recent digital exploration and experimentation. The pieces titled
"Follow the Light," "Inside Looking Out I," and "Embedded The "Window on the Wall' and 'Golden Pebble' pieces were inspired from photographs taken on a recent trip to China. The original photographs were scanned in and the compositions were developed in Photoshop. The "Floral" and "Woman" compositions were part of a series
I created the "Y2kQuilt" with 35 different print-design patterns, because it was the maximum possible size (of one piece) that could be on printed on the STORK® printer at the time. The "Transatlantic-Transformation" was a test for the limits of Photoshop®. The files created for this project used the maximum number of pixels possible in Photoshop®, and I simply couldn't make the files any bigger if they had to be 254 dpi (the print resolution for the STORK®). The pieces are 2x3 meters, and have an image centered in the middle of all the repeating elements, so it is not just a small continuous repeat.
"A piece of fabric" is an original and personal piece of digitally printed art cloth that interacts perceptually and physically with an audience. Ultimately, in its largest ramifications, it is a form of installation piece that an audience can walk through to experience visual stimulus. Moreover, my work also acts as a functional piece of art that is utilized as a one of a kind interior design, or for a fashion fabric design. Both of these outcomes focus on the importance of the tactile and visual interaction to an audience. Thus, my work acts as aesthetic representation of an art object, as well as an original utilitarian textile design products. The integration of
hands-on traditional image making, and computer technology is the mainstream
of my creative process. Utilizing drawings, photographs, and paintings,
which have been digitalized, I have been successful in creating digitally
printed cloth as both an art piece and a functional design. My working process, from the subject matter to the final production, has evolved as the technology has improved. After the initial concept is conceived, with either a hand-drawn or photographic image, the computer acts as a tool for helping me to visualize the piece. Often my inspiration for art making comes from images of contemporary culture; including nature and people. I am always searching for new and unusual optical effects from the latest advanced digital technology that cannot be executed by the usual conventional printing methods. In terms of these technologies what excites me the most, is the integration of literally millions of colors and effects, larger than life-scale motifs, photographic images, simulated surfaces, extreme tonal effects, to name just a few. After the preliminary images are created either by digital photographing and videotaping, or painting and drawing, the images are scanned, edited, and manipulated through the use of Adobe Photoshop software for the final printing stage, which is core of my creative process. The final step for
executing my work is the actual fabric printing process with digital ink
jet printing technology. At first, the type of fabric substrate should
be selected for ink testing and color management. Each type of fabric
requires specific textile dye ink and pre treatment. Three typical examples
could include: After the printing of the art piece is complete, finishing is considered depending upon final presentation for the piece. A majority of my works is steam pressed and the edges are trimmed and hemmed for particular final presentations. In order for me to
create qualitative and aesthetic art pieces I have had to educate myself
in the latest scientific methodologies around digital printing processes.
Although the testing methods above focus on these technologies, the ultimate
goal is to create a provocative and unique visual fabric art piece. As
a visual textile artist, I have had to explore both the traditional mediums
of painting, and fabric manipulation as well as experimentation with digital
printing technologies.
J.R. Campbell
One of the projects that J.R. is currently working on is called "Digikids: Incorporating Digital Textile Printing into the Co-Design Process of Mass Customization of Apparel Products." For this research, J.R. and his collaborative design team will be assessing the online design interface of digitally printed mass-customizable children's wear. The group will produce a series of customized children's garments that have been digitally printed with imagery selected by test group consumers as a means to measure level of satisfaction of the product as well as design/production related issues of creating customized digitally printed apparel.
The juxtaposition of technology driven imagery and digital printing against traditional materials and methods informs each of these pieces. Though the inspiration for the imagery and use of digital printing technology are high tech, traditional materials and methods also play an integral role in this work. Each piece was executed in silk, a fiber steeped in history and tradition. Use of metals such as steel and copper further ground each piece. While celebrating the creative possibilities afforded by digital printing, these pieces also reflect the value of tradition as a foundation for exploration of new technology. Jacqueline Rice and Uosis Joudvalkis
The primary source of our ideas comes from our garden in the form of Uosis's photographs, and goes though my hands as artist and designer of both the images for the textiles and the patterns for the garments, then my husband prints the fabrics. Our materials are natural fiber textiles, silk, wool, cotton, linen, and printed with acid dyes. We design and print digitally, but steam and wash the fabrics in traditional ways to set the dyes. We have the help of two seamstresses; one who edges the scarves and another that helps us fill orders for the garments. We feel the originality and uniqueness of our accessories and garments bring a product to the market place that is useful, dramatic, unusual and beautiful. Our process allows for one of a kind, limited editions and customization, depending on our customers' needs and our own vision of what is worth making. We are environmentally friendly, with both our use of resources and by not flooding the market place with mediocre, poorly crafted merchandise. We are concerned with value, both materially and philosophically. All of our ideas are made unique by the digital process of printing on fabric, which allows for intricacies of design and color that cannot be achieved by hand painting or silk-screening of fabric. As a design tool, digital technologies have been a gift to our creativity. We began using digital technology for printing on fabric in early 1999. It was an outgrowth of a search for more tactile output for designs that originated in the computer. We have an Encad proE 60" wide printer, which has only 4 colors and is 300 dpi. Working with those limitations, we made bold images and complicated backgrounds, all of which helped to hide the graininess of the printing technique. As time went on, we moved from printing scarves to garments. A big breakthrough was realizing that we could design right on the pattern pieces in the computer, and have designs that fit together at the seams and edges. Another insight was that the inherent inability of the inkjet to penetrate thicker fabrics could be an advantage. Since then we have been printing on both sides of wool, able to put two completely different designs on the fabric. This led to reversible garments. When pashminas were Vincent
Gil Vargas Quevedo
Using digital technology in quilts is a new way of exploring fabric design and color ways. I take digital images of bodies in motion and manipulate the colors to reflect a "dyed" affect. The images I chose were self-portraits of dance moves and acrobatic feats. Influenced by the colors of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, I wanted my quilts to look worn and textured, as if they had a patina; or resembled aged fabric from years of hanging on a wall. The high-tech use of digital imaging and printing has given me the opportunity to create original designs on a medium that has traditional history. My quilts depend heavily on the images and surface treatment I use. Thousands of stitches follow the outline of the image to create texture, shadows, and three-dimensional features within the quilts.
I plan to continue this
study and hope to develop new techniques in quilting to create three-dimensionality
to a rather flat surface. The University of Nebraska has since acquired
a Mimaki Textile Jet: 7 color cartridge printer and has been implementing
its use into the curriculum for advanced surface design students. |
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Digital
textile design is something I have been fascinated since my MFA research
back in 1989. My thesis was titled, "Computer Generated Structural
and Surface Design." Digital printing directly on to fabric was a
natural evolution from digital design.
I
have been designing on the computer for over 10 years. I am just glad
that now I can see the things in reality, before I could only do little
heat transfers.....but of course, when using digital printing technology,
it wouldn't make sense to make small things that easily could be produced
in a traditional way.
My
work is based on the concept of "a piece of fabric" that integrates
advanced computer technology as means to an end. 
I
come to the digital printing process from a background in fashion and
theater design, and a strong interest in designing apparel that does not
follow traditional seam placement or is sculptural in nature. I began
working with J.R. Campbell at Iowa State, where I am currently an assistant
professor. My interest in digital printing has evolved with continued
exploration of collaborative design processes with J.R., which has allowed
us to combine our individual strengths to conceptualize and visualize
both three-dimensional garment shaping and two-dimensional imagery. Through
this collaboration, we continue to explore increasingly complex design
ideas and to visualize new creative possibilities for both textile and
apparel design. 
J.R.
holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design and Master of Fine
Arts degree in Textile Art and Costume Design from the University of California
at Davis. He has been working with digital imaging for fabrics for over
10 years. He is currently developing research/creative activity in digital
capture, development and surface application to textile art and design
as an assistant professor in Textiles and Clothing at Iowa State University.
He explores the visual, cultural and technological aspects of digital
textile printing as he creates connections between two-dimensional print
design and three dimensional garment forms. He regularly shows artwork
in national and international juried exhibitions. J.R. is also conducting
evaluation-based research on the color-fastness of a variety of digitally
printed fabrics when tested for wash-fastness and light-fastness. 
In creating
textile imagery, I am intrigued by the intensity and range of color and
the photo-realistic quality afforded by digital printing. The collection
of work shown here was inspired by photographs of mundane objects taken
under polarized light with a scanning electron microscope. Tiny shards
of those commonplace objects were transformed into kaleidoscopic wonders
by the application of technology. Likewise, the use of digital printing
technology allowed the vivid colors and subtle organic shapes found in
those microscopic visions to be translated into textile imagery. 
We
design and digitally print art to wear, accessories and garments. These
garments and accessories are understated but with tactile richness that
flatters women of a certain age. For example our printed scarves frame
the face gracefully, and by using the trapeze shape our garments swing
out from the body in a dramatic way. 
My
interest in digital technology began in the latter part of 2000 when I
was invited to design garments using digitally printed fabrics created
by J.R. Campbell and Mary Stieglitz of Iowa State University for an exhibition
at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery. After the exhibition, I partnered
with Melanie Carrico of Kent State University to create my own image and
have it printed at her institution.