Batik Wearables Designer, www.kathyrobinsonbatik.com

“Often when asked to provide a written description of my work, it never fails to remind me of the fundamental preference for speaking through the work itself. I continue to find comfort in the simple tools and techniques of batik that I first encountered on the banks of the Delaware in the early Seventies. At first, now as then, I seem to see color and its emotional nuance in a piece; line and texture to follow.”

Kathy Robinson is a professional Batik artist and designer working out of her studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Relying heavily on the ancient wax resist method of Batik and using the Tjanting, the traditional Indonesian wood and metal tool, each piece is worked on as an individual canvas. The design of the garment, how it fits and flows on the body also play an important role in her “Wearable Art.” Recent studies in painting at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts have influenced her use of color and also led to more “painterly” techniques on the silk. Her work has been carried by museum shops and galleries across the country, including The Michener Art Museum Shop, Woodmere Art Museum Shop, Brandywine River Museum Shop, Portfolio at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Milwaukee Art Museum, and Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Kimono-Style Jacket, batik and hand painted silk, $320