Press Release
Judith Content
Desert Rain

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Artist Statement
Like the Japanese haiku my work explores the essence of an image, a memory, or a moment in time. I find inspiration in nature’s waterways, from coastal estuaries to desert pools. I am especially drawn to the haunting beauty of fens and marshes and the relationship between light and shadows as atmospheric changes abstract the landscape.

I construct my pieces with a palette of silks created using a contemporary approach to the traditional Japanese dye technique arashi-shibori. Traditionally arashi-shibori involved wrapping and compressing fabric on long polished wooden poles. The poles were then submerged in troughs of indigo dye. The threads used to secure the fabric to the pole as well as the manipulated pleats resisted the penetration of dye. Patterns reminiscent of wind-driven rain resulted from this process and perhaps explain the literal translation of arashi as “storm” in Japanese.

Over the years I have refined several unique approaches of the traditional arashi-shibori. Rather than indigo I use a broad spectrum of colorful dyes to create a collection of silks just as a painter would mix their paints. I also subtract color through delicate bleaching processes for even more intricate colorations. Although I can control the results to a great extent, the element of surprise when the silks are unwrapped and the patterns are revealed never fails to excite me.
                              Judith Content

Education
BFA with an Emphasis in Textiles, San Francisco State
     University, San Francisco, CA, 1979

Selected Collections
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
International Shibori Collection, Nagoya, Japan
Quilts Inc. Contemporary Art Quilt Collection
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA
John M. Walsh III, Contemorary Art Quilt Collection
Women Beyond Borders, Contemporary Art Collection