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Every magnificent garment begins with a single choice. This choice is not about color or shape. It is about substance. The right fabric transforms a good design into an extraordinary piece. It influences the drape, the feel, the very soul of your creation. Finding a reliable partner for this material is a quest. It requires […]
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Rachel G
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Moki Cherry’s woodworking phase didn’t produce your typical chairs and birdhouses. Once the late Swedish artist began playing with plywood, she constructed light-box sculptures that resembled surrealist faces. She named them “Talking Heads” — only appropriate, since members of the new wave band of the same name had crashed in her Queens loft.
MORE: Meet the company that recycled 150,000 pounds of cooking oil from Lincoln Financial Field last year
Philadelphians can see one of these “talking heads” at an exhibit at the Fabric Workshop and Museum. The retrospective, on view through April 12, 2026, is the largest collection of Cherry’s work staged in North America. Curated in partnership with Ars Nova Workshop, “The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry” includes paintings, ceramics, sculptures, tapestries, clothing and even video clips of the performances and children’s TV shows the artist created with her husband, the American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry.
Moki Cherry was born in 1943 in the northernmost county of Sweden, not far from the Arctic circle. She studied fashion design at the Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm before she began her decades-long multidisciplinary artwork.
“You can imagine a woman in remote Sweden, whose contemporaries might become teachers or homemakers,” Mark Christmas, executive and artistic director of Ars Nove, said at a Thursday press preview. “I think she sees an alternate future for herself as an artist and, well, specifically a fashion designer.”
After she met and married her husband, Cherry began splitting her time between her native country and New York City. She brought art into every corner of their family homes, creating singular canopies for her children’s beds and expansive murals on the walls. It was an effort to transform an ordinary domestic space into a “living temple.” (Philly residents might sense a kinship with Isaiah Zagar, whose mosaicked South Philly house features prominently in the documentary “In a Dream.”)
This textile piece features silk, cotton and a plastic doll. It is called ‘Movie star longs for a child (Marlene),’ in reference to the German actress Marlene Dietrich.
Her retrospective starts on a ground floor gallery space in the Arch Street art museum, where visitors will see pieces from Cherry’s home, her “talking head” and a textile portrait of a movie star whose gloved hand jumps out of the frame. The show continues up to the eighth floor, where TV sets loop footage of Cherry and her family performing on their children’s television show “Piff, Paff, Puff,” the costumes and tapestries from the Swedish series displayed alongside. Music clearly ran in the family, as several of Cherry’s children and grandchildren became professional recording artists; her son Eagle-Eye Cherry had a Billboard hit in 1997 with “Save Tonight.”
Also on the eighth floor is another new exhibit, featuring the Fabric Workshop and Museum’s artist in residence. Lisa Alvarado created two enormous fabric “talismans” that hang from the ceiling. Custom motorized pieces on the walls produce music as their gears turn. Colorful shapes also cover the space’s window, filtering the light that shines through the talismans, which nod to the 1965 flag the United Farm Workers adopted under Cesar Chavez.
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoice
Fabric Workshop and Museum artist in residence Lisa Alvarado stands in front of one of her two ‘talismans.’
Alvarado, who is based in Chicago, says her Mexican American heritage informs her work. Her family was impacted by the Mexican repatriation campaigns of the 1930s, when the U.S. government deported over one million Mexicans or Mexican Americans, most of them U.S. citizens.
“I also wanted to connect the work to what’s happening in history, social history,” she said at the Thursday event. “As an artist of Mexican American ancestry, I see a lot of parallels in the politicizing of citizenship that’s going on right now between the past and present.”
Like the Cherry retrospective, “Lisa Alvarado: Talismans for a Theater of Resilience” will be on view through April 12, 2026. The artist will play the harmonium in the space with her band Natural Information Society on Oct. 12.
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Kristin Hunt
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Flower pounding is one form of eco-printing that is just so much fun! It’s the perfect way to preserve the beauty and colour of a summer garden, and it is such an interesting art form to try. Here’s how you can try imprinting flowers onto fabric for some colourful and unique designs.
Flower pounding, plant bashing, eco printing. This art form has many different names. Its origin can be traced back to Japan, where it is known as Tataki-zomé (literally translated as hammering dye).
Eco-printing is rising in popularity, where people you use the marks and imprints of flowers and leaves to make patterns on fabric and paper. While there are many forms of eco-printing, such as bundling fabric and placing it in a steam bath, I prefer flower pounding!
This year, I went to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and did a whole session on eco-printing. In my first book, Garden Made, I talked all about flower pounding. I used to also do it while volunteering as a Master Gardener with children. For them, we would print on cards or fabric and give them rocks to pound the flowers.
Flower pounding has evolved much since as it has grown in popularity, and so has my style!
While it may seem as simple as pounding flowers into the fabric, there’s actually quite a bit of preparation that goes into the fabric to get it to stick.
Don’t worry, I’m going to break down everything for you!
I’ve done a bunch of courses on how to prepare fabric properly, and it’s definitely a process. One thing I will say is that I’m not a textile artist. This tutorial is great for beginners. If you really want to get into it, I would definitely follow a textile artist for more information (I really like Maiwa as a resource!)
The key to getting the design to stick is how you treat your fabric beforehand. When I was doing my presentation at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, I didn’t want to focus on the fabric preparation component of it. I wanted to focus on the design and artistry instead.
I came in with the fabric prepared and set up at the DIY stage. What I didn’t anticipate was that nearly 800 people would show up to see me bang some flowers. It was completely insane!
So to demonstrate it, I set up a community cloth. I got one big tablecloth and invited everybody up to come and try their hand at printing themselves. It turned into a really fun afternoon.
Certain flowers and colours will work really well for printing. Here are a few that I’ve tried myself and had success with.
Your best bet is to just try all kinds of different flowers. Some will be gushy and have lots of pigment, which means they can look more like splatters. Others will hold their shape, while others will change colour quite a bit.
Test the flowers on a piece of test fabric first so you know what to expect. The flowers will also look different depending on the type of fabric you use.
For fabric, you’ll want to use something that is plant-based (as opposed to animal or synthetic). This can include fibres like cotton, linen, ramie, and hemp.
The thinner the fabric, the more pigment from the flowers will bleed. You’ll get less clean or straight lines of the flowers. So if you use something like muslin, it will bleed.
Think about the tightness of the weave. Something like cotton is a good middle ground. It gets a bit of that watercolour effect but still holds together well.
Meanwhile, if you go for something thicker and with a tight weave, like a canvas, it won’t bleed much at all. But on the other hand, it takes a lot of pigment to transfer into it.
You can try eco-printing on all kinds of natural fabrics with this in mind. You can make tote bags, napkins, scarves, bandanas, and all kinds of clothing.
For me, I decided to make a community cloth. I brought out a big table cloth at the show, and gave everybody all kinds of flowers. Everybody started pounding different flowers and making their own designs.
It’s definitely not perfection, but it looked quite beautiful. I took it home and filled in some more spots, like adding a lily. I even invited some friends to give it a try at my house!
Before you can begin eco printing, you need to prepare the fabric. You’ll need to scour the fabric, which removes impurities such as oils, waxes, dirt, and more.
These impurities won’t go away with regular washing, so it’s really important to scour your fabric first. This allows the fabric to accept and hold onto the dye so it doesn’t fade—and you can wash your fabric afterward!
Fill a large pot with water, enough to cover the fabric but not crowd it. For every 1 lb of fabric (450 g), add 2 tsp of synthrapol and 4 tsp of soda ash.
Let the mixture simmer for about 1 hour. You’ll notice that the water will turn yellow-brown. This is all the impurities coming out!
Remove from heat and let the fibre cool completely. Then rinse in warm water. Don’t let dry because there’s more to do!
Note: some fabrics may be marked as PFD (prepared for dying). They might not need to be scoured or only require a light scour instead.
Plant fibres will also require a tannin to be added to assist with the dye process. Tannins may be clear or you can use them to add some colour to the fibre. I went for a clean tannin, so I used gallnut ground. You can also use tara for a clear tannin.
For a yellow hue, you can use myrobalan, pomegranate, black oak, or fustic. For a red-brown hue, try mimosa, quebracho, tea leaves, or cutch.
You generally want 10% WOF for tannins. To measure this, you’ll need to know how heavy your fabric is. For example, 1 lb of fabric weighs 454 grams. 10% of 454 grams is 45 grams, which is how much tannin you will need for your fabric. You’ll have to do some math!
Fill the pot again with hot water, enough to cover the fabric. Add your tannin of choice and stir. Add in your scoured and wet fabric.
Let soak for another 1-2 hours. Simply cover it with a lid—you do not need to “cook” the fabric. Let fibre cool, and then gently rinse.
Most plant fibres will also need a mordant. These are metallic salts that will help bond the dye to the fabric.
Alum (Potassium aluminum sulfate) is the most commonly used and accessible mordant available. You’ll want to use it at 12% WOF (about 1 tbsp per 100 grams of fibre).
Fill the pot again with enough water to cover the fabric. Stir the alum into the water. Add in your wet fabric that has been scoured and treated with tannin.
Let it soak for 1-2 hours. Cover with a lid so it stays warm. Now you can rinse it and let it dry for your eco-printing!
The part I had the most fun with was making a design. It can be easy for things to start looking like a mess. Once you start smashing flowers, it can be difficult to control their pigments.
In my talk, I suggested folks try flower pounding in two different design styles.
After you’ve done all the prep, hammering is the easy part! Peel away any parts of the flower you might not want, such as stems or stamens. Gently lay a piece of parchment paper over your flowers or leaves to hold them in place.
Gently hammer your flowers into place. You can gently lift it to see if it needs any more hammering.
Once satisfied with your design, carefully peel away any petals or leaves. They’re going to be squishy!
You can use a fabric pen to add extra details or edges to your flowers if you like.
To set your design, iron the fabric completely before washing. Wash your fabric on a gentle cycle with cold water, and hang to dry.
My community tablecloth turned out so beautiful. And I love that I can still continue to add more flowers and pigment to it. It looks lovely as a setting for a little table to sit at in the middle of the garden and enjoy the space and beauty of flowers.
Let me know how this project goes for you in the comments below!
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Stephanie Rose
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Designer Beverley Wolter delivers nature-inspired line, uniquely showcasing the authentic beauty of the local landscape
Press Release
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updated: Nov 6, 2019
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.,, November 6, 2019 (Newswire.com)
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Designer/Artist/Owner Beverley Wolter of Judson Lane Wall Design will premiere the brand new Sonoran Collection, featuring several wall decal mural kits and product bundles, allowing clients to assemble a high-end, hand-painted mural in just minutes. Long-anticipated, this complete line inspired by nature features original handcrafted designer fabric reproductions showcasing the beauty of the Sonoran Desert.
The collection’s wall decal mural kits recreate the tranquility of nature by bringing into focus the little things that matter, to make mom and baby feel as though they were at a peaceful retreat. The decals are constructed from matte, canvas-like fabric with adhesive backing. Each kit comes with a design installation guide and color palette for easy coordination.
Several products come in various sizes and color choices such as ‘original,’ ‘sun-kissed,’ and ‘cools,’ for a seamless, cohesive look to appeal to all of today’s diverse trends. The collection also includes coordinating wall art prints and growth charts to celebrate baby’s first birthday and create a complete, high-design aesthetic.
All of the wall appliqués are easy to apply. Moms (or dads!) just peel and stick, and, if desired, remove and reposition, for the perfect look. The Sonoran Collection offers the beauty of a designer nursery without the hassle and expense of hiring a designer and muralist.
Each product works together and is interchangeable with the whole collection. A few examples of pairings:
The Sonoran Collection will be released on Nov. 25. Items range from $69 to $500. The limited-edition collection — which is predicted to sell out — will be available exclusively on judsonlane.com.
Judson Lane, a favorite of new and expecting moms produces designs that are meticulously hand-painted with love and then reproduced with baby in mind. So you can love the walls you’re with!
ABOUT
Award-winning artist and designer Wolter started designing decal kits when she couldn’t find for her son’s nursery a high-quality, decal product that looked hand-painted and flowed like a mural. So, painstakingly, she painted one herself. When her and her family relocated and had to leave the murals behind, she was heartbroken. After many months of researching and refining her method, Wolter developed the perfect system to capture the look of her original, hand-painted art on high-quality material, and married it with a customized design layout guide and color palette. Wolter’s designs have gained notoriety in the designer wall decal industry.
CONTACT
For more information, media high-resolution photos, or interview requests with Beverley Wolter, email info@judsonlane.com
Source: Judson Lane
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