Caroline Silverman is an interdisciplinary artist who focuses on the intersection of object, narrative and context. Working predominantly with textiles, she explores how the soft things that people live with reflect the realities and records of their experiences. In the process of exploring what draws people to their objects, she has made quilts, writing, embroideries, tools, poetry, garments, books and paintings to help her better understand this relationship. In her work she contemplates how these objects are often made with the intention to provide comfort and protection, and strives to extend these gestures to her collaborative work and teaching. Caroline’s recent research has delved into the tactile and intimate relationship between textiles and the body, specifically looking at quilts and embroidery as an extension of memory and embodied experiences. She thinks this relationship is particularly important to consider in analog and digitized ways.
Born in Newburyport, MA, she earned her BFA in Textiles from RISD in 2018 with dual concentrations in Literary Arts Studies and Gender, Race and Sexuality. Her work has been exhibited at the Burroughs & Chapin Museum, Rhode Island School of Design, Emily Harvey Gallery, Dedee Shattuck Gallery and at The Yard, among others places. Her work has been published in Quiltfolk Magazine (2023), A Form of Perpetual Caress (2020) and Objects as Texts in conjunction with Brown University (2018). Caroline currently maintains a multidisciplinary studio practice in New York, NY.
More of Caroline’s work can be found at carolinesilverman.com.
Embroidery has had a long global history as a social, political, and decorative tradition that has existed for centuries. This course will explore the application of contemporary digital technology to a traditionally hand-crafted medium, and the ways in which these methods are in dialogue with each other. Students will learn a lexicon of hand embroidery stitches, industry-standard Tajima Pulse software, and how to operate a 15-needle Tajima commercial embroidery machine. Software instruction will be extensive and includes distinguishing the characteristics of tools, tool options, and editing. A basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop is helpful, but we will also cover the fundamentals of creating a preparatory design file in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. The resulting personalized embroidery designs can be applied to fabrics for apparel or interior applications, as well as fine art. A series of small assignments will build up a repertoire of techniques and culminate in a final project that summarizes the student's ability and artistic innovation. We will spend this class thinking about our role as artists and designers who are partaking in this expansive tradition of embroidery. Students will be working both digitally and by hand, finding a balance and relationship between the two.
Elective
Spring 2024 Courses
TEXT 4704-01 - DIGITAL EMBROIDERY
LevelUndergraduate
UnitTextiles
Subject Textiles
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
TEXT 4704-01
DIGITAL EMBROIDERY
LevelUndergraduate
UnitTextiles
Subject Textiles
PeriodSpring 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: M | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Caroline SilvermanLocation(s): College Building, Room 331; College Building, Room 143Enrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Digital embroidery transforms hand-crafted couture into a work of fine art. Just like a tattoo where an image is created with needles and color, so embroidered fabric or paper is needle-stitched with colored threads. A basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop is helpful, but we will also cover the fundamentals of creating a preparatory design file in Adobe Illustrator. This vector design file will then be artistically translated into a Pulse embroidery file that can be saved and sewn out as as a multiple or repeat pattern. The resulting personalized textile can be applied to fabrics for apparel or interior applications as well as fine art. A series of small assignments will build up a repertoire of techniques and culminate in a final project that summarizes the student's ability and artistic innovation. This course will explore top of the line Tajima Pulse software with the goal of creating personalized images that will be sewn out on a 15-needle Tajima commercial embroidery machine.
Please contact the department for permission to register. Elective
