Published: August 14, 2008 11:26 am         

Making Main Street more colorful

Artist displays work in Bob's window

The traditional garb of a Japanese firefighter hangs in the space beside Bob’s Ready to Wear on Main Street as part of an art installation initiated by London Downtown’s arts and entertainment committee.

The installation shows a traditional coat dyed using Japan’s shibori technique.

“It’s almost like origami in that you fold the fabric in all these different ways,” artist Josh Samples said. “You fold the fabric into one significant piece in the shape of a thick triangle and then clamp the folded-up piece in between two pieces of wood. You hand paint whatever fabric is sticking outside of the wood. It creates infinite geometric shape that constantly change, almost like a kaleidoscope.”

Just dying the fabric takes at least four days.

In his artist’s statement, Samples explained the process of creating the coat, which took him about a month.

“I knew the garment had to be quilted to accurately represent the firefighter’s coat, so I added more layers of fabric,” he wrote. “The traditional garments were heavily quilted to retain water while the men and women entered the burning buildings. I chose a simple Japanese-style fabric to lie under the silk piece to add depth. I then added the inner lining which is a modern representation of a traditional Japanese print of flying dragons among the clouds.”

Samples created the coat for his Fiber I art class at the University of Kentucky.

While he is interested in mixed media, Samples said he immediately took to fiber art. He previously created a quilt that was selected to be part of a juried show at a gallery in Lexington.

The installation has been in place for about two months.

Other artists interested in being involved in London Downtown’s arts and entertainment committee may call Josh Samples at 682-9479.

Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@sentinel-echo.com.