Pinwheel Print

In the Fall of 2010 (the beginning of my senior year at University of Michigan), I filled a moleskin journal with many hand drawn patterns that eventually resulted in my thesis project . I only used a few select patterns for the overall project but had many others sitting in that journal waiting to be used in the future. Luckily for the Pinwheels, that time was a cold day last February, while designing the Mata Traders' Spring '13 collection. 

From left to right - Dahee Dress, Garden Party Dress & Shanghai Shift Dress. 

After sifting through colorful and complicated designs, we realized that what we were lacking was a simple, monochromatic print that was playful and quirky but also sophisticated. I brought in a few ideas from my moleskin journal from college and we all decided that the Pinwheels would translate effortlessly from paper to fabric. We loved it so much that it was paired with 3 different garments (2 of which are almost completely sold out!) 

This has also been a popular pattern to be blogged about. Check out these three posts by Walking with Cake,  Birds-of-a-Thread and LindaLind.

Bloggers who have featured the Pinwheels print from left to right: Walking with Cake, Birds of a Thread and  Lindalind.

Bringing Patterns to Camp!

For many summers, I had the amazing opportunity to attend Camp Tel Yehudah, Young Judaea's Teen Leadership camp. Summer months as a camper were spent mastering the art of kissing with braces, challenging ourselves creatively on how to best raid the boys bunks and learning a thing or two about Zionism, leadership and Jewish identity. I spent these same months as a counselor figuring out how to connect teenagers with art & Judaism. However, one of my favorite parts as an art specialist was preparing for the last night of camp, otherwise known as "Banquet". Banquet is a huge themed night where the typical dining hall is transformed into something special and spectacular... and the entire staff dresses up according to the theme... It's a kind of a big deal.

 Last summer my amazing, talented younger sister, Leah Whiteman, was the supervisor for the art program at Camp Tel Yehudah. After 2 weeks, she decided on "Africa" for the 1st session banquet theme. Besides sharing genes, Leah is also a wonderful artist who is currently a senior at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design,  and has taken a few fiber arts classes (I swear we have differences!)

Within the theme "Africa" she wanted to focus quite a bit on traditional African kente cloth and African Dutch wax batik prints.  Kente Cloth is a type of interwoven silk and cotton fabric, native to the Akan ethnic group of South Ghana. Each color used in the cloth has a different symbolic meaning. They are beautiful pieces with rich traditions and history. African Dutch wax batik prints are patterns printed on one side of fabric using both wax as a repellant of ink in addition to ink and dyes. This is a common but beautiful process in African textiles and the fabric is used on many native garments in the region. Incorporating traditional elements of African textiles added a respectful and authentic touch to the theme while also made it look so cool! I wish I could have a backdrop like this at one of my own parties!

Painted panels of traditional Kente cloth and African Dutch Wax batik prints.

Using camp art materials like butcher paper, tempera paint, cardboard and paper mâché, Leah and her team of art specialists truly transformed the dining hall into a beautiful African paradise!

Check out these panels of replicated fabrics! They managed to create an elephant sculpture and a staff member took on the challenge of dressing up as a giraffe! Disney's "The lion king" played on theTV screens in the background and I'm sure the campers were in awe of the space and had quite a memorable "Banquet". 

Animals were created and welcomed! ...Also, check out the awesome Mata Traders dress Leah is wearing!

Let's Repeat!

​The rumors are true ... I really do love teaching textile design! This morning I had the pleasure of leading a "Textile Repeats" workshop and both of the participating ladies are University of Michigan School of Art & Design graduates. The workshop was split into two parts. The first half focused on actually using real materials (paper, crayons, markers, tape, the handy dandy printer and photocopier...etc.) to create different kinds of repeats. (That is personally my favorite -everyone gets creative with doodles!) The second half  of the workshop is translating the concepts we learned using materials, to Computer Aid Design technology (i.e. Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator). We got some pretty funky practice prints while listening to some sweet jams and gabbing about the grand old college life. 

If you or anyone you know is interested in this or any other workshops I lead, please check out the Teaching page on my website.​

​"Textile Repeats" workshop. 2013.

​"Textile Repeats" workshop. 2013.