The date of the wedding day was set and we agreed to paint the fabric for her dress together.
But which fabric? Which colour? And what pattern?
After looking at all kinds of silk, we chose a beautiful high-gloss satin silk.
The dress had to have warm colors. We have made various color samples in orange and gold tones. A little more red, a little less red, a little black. In the end, the color was to our liking.
We painted the top of the dress in full color. That was easy.
Then it was time for the bottom. We wanted to use the full color at the top and eventually fade to zero somewhere in the middle.
Since it would be a full circle skirt, we painted 2 large pieces of silk, each 140 cm x 280 cm.
The gradient had to go all the way around and where the 2 parts of fabric came together, the gradient had to continue neatly, of course. That was challenging. But It worked!
Mieke Nijhuis Löbker
Mieke participated as a student in my 3-day workshop silk painting and felting. She told me that she had made many wedding dresses in her life. Then the idea was quickly born that she would make my daughter's wedding dress. And she did it fantastic!
Mieke first made a test dress from cotton. She molded the top onto my daughter's body. Strips of fabric are then pinned together on your body, creating a perfectly fitting garment.
After a few fitting rounds, the dress fit like a glove. A matching lace top and lace shoes were bought in a store. A beautiful combination.
As the mother of the bride, I liked to match the colors of the dress. For this I painted a large silk scarf on a very thin Ponge silk of 180x90 cm. And I made a shawl in case it became cold. For this I painted a large piece of silk in the same style as the scarf and felted it with black wool / silk. A wonderfully warm and supple shawl.
It was a beautiful day to never forget.
