Many years ago, I began making drawings of this dress my grandmother made (in silk, sewn by hand) for her graduation from nursing school in 1934. I did many sketches as it hung in the window, sun light shining through so I could see all the layers clearly, until I realized the damage it was causing. The final drawings are life size and began with tracings of the outline of the dress. Some are sewn in order to mimic her original process. I cut out the individual pieces like a pattern and hand sewed them to a larger piece of paper. In one drawing the pieces are sewn on in layers, imitating the layers of fabric. Some of the drawings are simple ink drawings or cyanotypes and echo the lightness and fragility of the dress. The ink changes the texture of the paper – it wrinkles and shrinks a little – making it look like the wrinkled fabric of the old dress or aged skin.
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Many years ago, I began making drawings of this dress my grandmother made (in silk, sewn by hand) for her graduation from nursing school in 1934. I did many sketches as it hung in the window, sun light shining through so I could see all the layers clearly, until I realized the damage it was causing. The final drawings are life size and began with tracings of the outline of the dress. Some are sewn in order to mimic her original process. I cut out the individual pieces like a pattern and hand sewed them to a larger piece of paper. In one drawing the pieces are sewn on in layers, imitating the layers of fabric. Some of the drawings are simple ink drawings or cyanotypes and echo the lightness and fragility of the dress. The ink changes the texture of the paper – it wrinkles and shrinks a little – making it look like the wrinkled fabric of the old dress or aged skin.