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Traditional native dress tells a story. Through the use of color, symbol, pattern and embellishment, my work attempts to convey the customs of a culture.
While I first became interested in textiles in early childhood while learning how to sew, I became completely enamored with costume and tribal dress during my adult travels, especially while on tour of northern India. Here, I saw women in brightly colored hues doing routine chores while literally wearing the family’s wealth on their bodies: bands of carved bangle bracelets lining arms, layers of gold crescents dangling beneath necks, earrings connecting the ear lobe to the nose. I found the image of their appearance breathtaking.
I have adopted one image: that, of the embellished horizontal bands of the women wearing an armful of bracelets as the basis of form for my vessels, since most of the chores performed by these women involve the use of these decorated arms. Made of porcelain, layers of color are applied on top of one another and water-etched using a shellac resist, with feminine patterns. The forms are functional as bottles and vases, but so elaborately decorated that one might question if they were intended for such ordinary tasks. That is how I felt when looking at the beauty of the desert tribal women.
"Just a note to again say 'thanks so very much' for your assisting me in being able to purchase a Deb Pendell piece...when visiting the area again, I will make sure to stop by and hopefully support the Co-op once more."