hammered bronze.

here is another necklace that i made. i've been wearing this one a lot lately.

2.

this one-piece dress includes three different patterns along with a neutral black back. it closes with three uranium glass buttons, has a collar created by a thin horse hair braid and a belted waist.

if you like what you see, there's a bit more over at my website!

3.

this silk dress is printed with falling dead horses and has blue LED lights along the shoulders which can be turned on by squeezing a button inside of the pocket. it is meant to literally 'give power' to the wearer. the belt is made of the same print as the leggings and features a bronze buckle with a small fire opal in the center.

4.

the tank top image is based off of this which was a reference for a never-completed tapestry weaving. the back hangs extra long and is made of a poly-silk mesh. the leggings are a silk-lycra blend done in this print and feel amazing. everything was sewn with glow-in-the-dark thread.

1.

this is a two piece, top and skirt. the black part of the top is made of a poly-silk mesh see-thru stripe fabric and the sleeves and cape-back are of my own printed design. around the collar is a thick horse hair braid which has a nice heaviness on the shoulders. the skirt has pockets {essential} and is made of alternating panels of lighter/darker versions of the same print.

master of textiles!

for my recently completed masters thesis i explored the transformative nature of clothing and its conceivable use as a modern day fetish object. in order to do so i considered the philosophy of friedrich nietzsche's amor fati, the historical use of magic as a cure for the anxiety of life, and the semiotics of fashion, to examine how garments can act as a catalyst in altering the individual’s relationship to and view of the world. in particular i focused on the integration of opposites; beauty and tragedy, and the psychological power of materials and symbols, to understand the part that magical thinking plays in our lives. the main result of this research was the creation of a series of garments that are inherently magical and allow the wearer to simultaneously accept and repel life's tragedies.

ANYWAY, i'm so excited to finally share them with everyone! it was a lot of work, but i'm really happy about what i produced. i designed the prints {which are based off of space and cave imagery and include ghost-y horses}, and then digitally printed the silk fabric, and designed the patterns, and braided the horse hair {around the collars} and then sewed everything {a lot by hand} and then took the pictures {via self-timer} and even 'modeled' {with head removed due to lack of smizing}. WHEW. i'm going to be posting the garments throughout the morning, so stay tuned! xoxo!

huff & puff.

today i'm finally taking pictures of my thesis work and this is how i feel about it.

but, in other news, soon i will post pictures of my thesis work!

its own natural form.

hey, remember the collages that i've been making? well i made it into a book! that you can buy!




here's a little preview:

its own natural form. by Catherine A. Kane | Make Your Own Book

{'artists who do books'
drawing by ed ruscha}

my mimaki.

speaking of digital printing, here's some samples of the patterns i've been working on lately. they're on a silk/lyrca blend and printed on the mimaki fabric printer at school, which is totally awesome. i'm still working on two more designs and figuring out some scale and color adjustments {who knew i liked magenta so much?}, but in the next 6 weeks i'll be printing 20 yards of fabric, and then transforming them into magical garments to be worn in tragic times!

networkin'.

i'm spending all of this morning {aaaand probably most of the afternoon} at a career fair. it's probably going to be hell on earth, but i have a feeling that something good will come from it {mostly because my magic 8 ball says so}.

in related news read this nyt article about how unpaid internships are unlawful!

{image from a 1969
art workers' coalition protest
via fffound}

sikuli.

i've been gone for a while, huh?! well, i've been busy preparing for my final graduate review this friday. lots of printing and dying and bleaching and crocheting and reading and thinking about magic and horses and the universe. i made these god's eye earrings to wear for my review. they are made of sterling silver, glow-in-the-dark thread and horse hair. they didn't turn out quite the way i was hoping, but i'm considering them prototypes.

they're about 1.5" long, plus the earwire. here i am wearing them [with twenty-twenty doing his best disaffected gucci model stare.]

for the huichol peoples of northwestern mexico, the god's eye is symbolic of the power of seeing and understanding that which is unknown and unknowable, The Mystery. the huichol call their god's eyes sikuli, which means "the power to see and understand things unknown." yes!

winter-time yeti fun!

this summer designed a whole series of greeting cards that feature two best friend yetis hanging out together. i wanted to use the 'snow-yeti' as my christmas card so i got about a million/billion printed. i only know, like, 15 people so i'm going to sell off the rest! so if you want to say ''seasons greetings'' with two cute monsters please check them out!

the idea of gluing something onto something else.

i've been making more collages. it's really fun and helps clear away the cobwebs (and piling magazines).

a new dawn.

this a photograph i took with my phone of a film shown on a computer and then ran through photo processing software and uploaded and posted it on this blog to be viewed online.

the illustrated man.

i'm currently trying to learn illustrator. it's...confusing and fun.

{the original woody}

school of design.

my ghost horse dress is in the new scad catalogue. pretty neat!

infinite karma.

here's the other dress. it's also silk charmeuse that i digitally printed. one design is the horsehead nebula repeated in various scales and the other is of two lists. one is of all of the bad things that have happened to me in the past 4 months and the second is of all of the good things that are going to happen to me in order to balance those things out. magical thinking! the front has two wonderfully deep pockets and the back has an open keyhole. it was really fun and very challenging to make dresses, but i'm going to keep up with it.

no love lost.

this is a dress that i made! it's digitally printed silk charmeuse with black silk dye. the print is one i designed of dead and floating horses with some nice grey roses/pools of blood. it's also got a self belt with a horseshoe buckle. i love wearing it and i think that i want all of my clothes to be made out of silk. it feels so wonderful. i made another dress as well that i'll post later today!

edit:

i googled my name {yeah} and found this blurb about my piece in the show at topstich.

"Real monkey sock dolls are displayed right near by Catherine A. Kane's performing monkey paper doll with reticulated limbs. Of course, like all dolls, the monkey is us, but it's not that homey sock doll, but rather a deified creature who feels he has to put on a show. Don't we all?"

monkey & bear.

although i still have no flyer for the show, no information about other artists in the show and a really cruddy detail shot of my own piece, i might as well post about it anyway. i have two pieces in a group show at topstitch boutique here in philadelphia. the theme is "paper dolls" and i made some twee marionettes. monkey & bear.



you can make the monkey take his top-hat on and off and the bear can do a little dance in her ballet slippers. the opening is tomorrow at 3rd and market {2nd floor} from 6 to 9pm.