Art Quill Studio: New Range of Silk Neckties - Karma and AkashWearable ArtMarie-Therese Wisniowski

The cravat may not be a pure Croatian invention, since the history of wearing neckties dates back to the Roman empire, but the modern version of the cravat was widely popularised and spread throughout Europe by the Croats in the 17th century – more precisely during the Thirty Years' War (1618 – 1648).

While these early neckties did serve a function in that they tied the top of their jackets, they also yielded a decorative effect, the appearance of which King Louis was quite disposed to. In fact, he liked their appearance so much that he made these ties a mandatory accessory for Royal gatherings, and to honor the Croatian soldiers he gave this piece of clothing a name - “La Cravate” - the name for necktie in France to this day.

1903 Wood Engraving Portrait King Louis XIII France. Note the King’s cravat.

The early cravats of the 17^th Century do not resemble today’s necktie, and yet the early style stayed popular throughout Europe for well over 200 years. Today’s necktie did not emerge until the 1920s, but since that time the design has undergone many and often subtle changes.

Graphic History of Neckties.

Hendrik, the founder of "tie-a-tie.net", has given a timeline of the development of the necktie from the 1900s through to 2013.

Who can ever forget the Laurel and Hardy neckties? Together with their suits it gave them an unique appearance.

New Range of Silk Neckties - Karma and Akash
There are three basic ingredients (as opposed to definitions) that all artworks possess: (i) they need to be “engaged”; (ii) they are non-functional; (iii) they are aesthetic. Wearable Art is “Art” when placed in an art context but when it is not placed in an art context, its functionality obscures the act of engagement.

 My new range of androgynous silk neckties – Karma and Akash – are wearable art. Being androgynous in design, these neckties can be worn by women and men. My neckties are made of fine quality silk satin and have been created using time honored and complex surface design techniques.  The silk satin neckties are an unique creation, never to be repeated in color, tone or overall design. The design elements have been specially created to complement the shape and format of the necktie, but the overall colors, hand printing/over printing and design features is what ensures their uniqueness as a one-off specialty wearable art item for wearers and on-lookers alike to covet. Each necktie has been signed by the artist – me!

The neckties can also be commissioned from me and can be dyed & printed in colors of your choice; please email me - Marie-Therese - for further information.

Techniques employed for the Karma Necktie
1. The silk necktie was initially pure white in color. It was placed in a soda ash solution for two hours to prepare for the dyeing process.
2. Whilst still damp, fiber reactive dyes using two colors - yellow and a grey/blue/violet mix - were hand painted and left to batch overnight.
3. After batching and washing out the fiber reactive dyes the necktie was left to dry.
4. When dry, the necktie was silkscreened with an organic, linear, abstract pattern in transparent grey fabric paint over the entire surface and left to dry.
5. The next layer used the same organic, linear, abstract silkscreen pattern in metallic gold fabric paint over the entire surface to create imagery that is imbued with rich visual depth and complexity.
6. The final layer - an Indian inspired design - was stenciled in deep metallic blue fabric paint. The rich, deep metallic blue color was chosen to visually ‘pull’ together all of the design elements. It gives a high contrast to the complementary yellow hues in the background and complements the grey/blue/violet analogous background colors. It also gives an additional sense of textural and visual richness due to the intensely rich and vibrant metallic paints used on the piece.

Techniques employed for the Akash Necktie
1. The silk necktie was initially pure white in color. It was placed in a soda ash solution for two hours to prepare for the dyeing process.
2. Whilst still damp, fiber reactive dyes using two colors - orange and a mid blue - were hand painted and left to batch overnight.
3. After batching and washing out the fiber reactive dyes the necktie was left to dry.
4. When dry, the necktie was discharged over the entire surface using a silkscreen with an organic, linear, abstract pattern to remove some of the dye and give additional color nuances to the surface layers.
5. After washing out the discharge media the necktie was left to dry.
6. The next layer used an organic, linear, abstract silkscreen pattern in deep metallic blue fabric paint over the entire surface to create imagery that is imbued with rich visual depth and complexity.
7. The final layer - Indian inspired ‘leaf’ designs - was stenciled over the entire necktie surface in pale metallic blue fabric paint. The rich pale metallic blue color was chosen to visually ‘pull’ together all of the design elements. It gives a high contrast to the complementary orange hues in the background and complements the mid blue analogous background colors. It also gives an additional sense of textural and visual richness due to the intensely rich and vibrant metallic paints used on the piece.

Necktie Source
For those who would like to design/decorate their own neckties they are available from "Kraftkolour" in Melbourne (Australia).

Karma

Technique and Media: Hand dyed and hand painted background colors, multiple silkscreens and stencilled employing metallic and transparent paints on silk satin.
Size: 9.5 w x 142 h cm.
Price: AU$85.00 (Shipping cost not included).

Karma - detail view.

Karma - The patterned surface design elements are printed over the entire front length of the necktie.

Karma - The back of the entire necktie features the hand dyed and hand painted background colors.

Akash

Technique and Media: Hand dyed and hand painted background colors, discharged, silkscreened and stencilled employing metallic paints on silk satin.
Size: 9.5 w x 142 h cm.
Price: AU$85.00 (Shipping cost not included).