Colorado State University Avenir Museum Features Floating Colors in New Exhibit

Colorado State University’s Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising will open an exhibit on marbling — a method of floating colors on the surface of a textile or paper when dyeing it — on Sept. 9. The exhibit, which is free, will run until Jan. 27 in the museum at 115 University Center for the Arts.

The exhibit will feature the marbled paper and textiles of artist and guest curator Peggy Skycraft. Skycraft is considered a master of the art of marbling, whose original marbled art has been reproduced in graphic designs all over the world on clothing, books, posters, packaging and in magazines.

“The Fine Art of Marbling” also will include original work on marbled fabric by Los Angeles couturier Ali Rahimi and Eulanda Sanders, a professor in the Department of Design and Merchandising at CSU.

The ancient art of marbling dates back to the 10th century in China and Japan. The technique was largely lost in the 20th century. This exhibit will feature modern and vintage fabrics, papers and a variety of apparel applications, including one-of-a-kind creations.

An opening reception is planned from 5-6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, and a lecture with Skycraft as a guest speaker will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. She will discuss the history and evolution of marbling and show examples of her work not included in the exhibit. Her lecture will be followed by a market sale of an exclusive selection of marbled scarves, fabric and papers.

In addition to the reception, the regularly scheduled Third Thursday Lecture Series, held at 7 p.m. in Room 136 of the University Center for the Arts Annex, are as follows:

– Oct. 20: Eulanda Sanders will discuss the designing life of a couturier in “The Designing Life: The interface between Fabric and Fashion.”

– Nov. 17 – Avenir Museum curator Linda Carlson will look at her favorite objects among the 13,000 objects in the museum. Carlson will retire in December after 23 years at the university.

The opening reception and Third Thursday Lecture Series are free and open to the public. No reservations are needed.

In addition, Skycraft will teach a marbling workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 10 and Sept. 11. The one-day, hands on workshops are limited to 20 participants per day. Cost is $100 and a small fee for an optional lunch. For more information or to register, contact Carlson at 970-491-1983 or email Linda.Carlson@colosate.edu, or Megan Leonard, collections manager, at 970-491-6648 or Megan.Leonard@colostate.edu.

The Avenir Museum is part of the Department of Design and Merchandising in the College of Applied Human Sciences at Colorado State University. Museum hours are 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Wednesday and Friday, and 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, The museum is closed on national and university holidays.

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