In April, I traveled to Chicago to lecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While there, I spent some time at the Art Institute and found great inspiration from the works displayed in their galleries. (For someone who has been considering scale and texture quite a bit lately, Elena Manferdini’s exhibition gave me plenty to think about.)

I immediately felt connected to one of the Georgia O’Keeffe paintings, which took me back to 2012 when Alabama Chanin hosted a Weekend Away Workshop in Taos, New Mexico. The workshop was held at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, and I slept in the very room that Georgia O’ Keeffe stayed in some 60 years ago.

Georgia O’Keeffe, American, 1887 – 1986
Sky Above Clouds IV, 1965
Oil on canvas

Sky Above Clouds IV depicts patterns and changing colors of the desert landscape. While flying over New Mexico, I took in the vast expanse of sky and clouds she often depicted in her works, and it left a lasting impression on me.

As we have been recently exploring the design and scale of our New Leaves stencil, I looked at the scale of her work with new eyes. She began the work on a 3’ x 4’ canvas, but the final piece is breathtakingly 24’ wide. The hazy blues fade out of the bold foreground and draw your eye to the horizon.

Today, we highlight our Painted A-Line Dress, a one-of-a-kind Indigo garment that was custom made and hand dyed for our new collection—inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe and her incredible artistry.

While we’ve worked with Indigo for over seven years, last summer we announced our first one-of-kind collection, dyed here at The Factory. And this year we take our designs a step further: adding hand-painted details to the garment before its indigo dye bath. The final step layers the New Leaves appliqué, in various shades of indigo, onto the prepared dress.

Process: Construct / Paint / Overdye / Embroider

Check back in a few weeks, as we add more specialty pieces to our ever-changing collection.