The Harwood Steiger Book Project blog is a stream of consciousness about the development of a book on Steiger's silk screened textiles. This blog represents the process of documenting the hundreds of silk screen designs produced by Steiger and his wife, Sophie, over a 40 year period in Tubac, Arizona, where they had a studio and helped to make the community of Tubac a place where Art Meets History. This is only a small part of what I have learned about the man and his work.
Somethings Wonderful This Way Came
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
TROLLING FOR TREASURES
During the last few months, I have collected a number of images that fall into the miscellaneous Harwood Steiger category. Some of these images come from my daily diligent searches on Ebay. Others, I just happened across. These items are not something I would necessarily be interested in owning, but they are worthy of documentation. Unfortunately, the information is limited and ownership unknown. So, I'll just let the images speak for themselves.
First, here's a great square dance ensemble that made my eyes pop out. Can you imagine how much fabric went into making this? Ironically, it is made in the fabric called, Square Dance. It's a beauty. It was offered on Ebay, but didn't sell. So, the owner either still has it, or sold it off-line.
This is called, Spices. no doubt, Sophie Steiger, a wonderful cook and gifted herbalist, had something to do with the creation of this design. It is the only example of Spices I've ever seen and it sold on Ebay. It was a rather small piece of fabric as I recall.
First, here's a great square dance ensemble that made my eyes pop out. Can you imagine how much fabric went into making this? Ironically, it is made in the fabric called, Square Dance. It's a beauty. It was offered on Ebay, but didn't sell. So, the owner either still has it, or sold it off-line.
This is called, Spices. no doubt, Sophie Steiger, a wonderful cook and gifted herbalist, had something to do with the creation of this design. It is the only example of Spices I've ever seen and it sold on Ebay. It was a rather small piece of fabric as I recall.
This amazing beauty is a table cloth, the likes of which I've never seen and don't know anything about. It is so breathtakingly beautiful! I love the color, composition and subject matter. It is very unlike any Steiger table cloth I've found and were it not for the signature in the corner, I'd be hard pressed to identify it as a Harwood Steiger work. It, also was offered on Ebay and sold for a fortune.
I love this example of Out West. The color is fabulous. It was also offered on Ebay and sold for more than I could ever afford. If I recall correctly, it was a four yard piece.
I just thought you might enjoy seeing these wonderful examples. It is my custom to use my own items on the blog. But, every once in a while, something absolutely wonderful comes to light and merits inclusion.
Monday, June 11, 2012
TAKING ON NEW TASKS
Seven Cities of Cibola |
Luckily, again, someone reading this blog has contacted me and offered Harwood Steiger treasures found in her mother's stash. They were designs which were totally new to me. Both are abstracts and not obviously traditional Steigers. But, Caravan and Scheherazade are clearly in Steiger's distinctive abstract style. Scheherazade is lively, fanciful and fun. Executed in hot pink and medium brown ink on ivory colored fabric, it has lots of spirals, lattice designs, and tent shapes. It calls to mind tents billowing on desert sands. I think Sophie Steiger exactly captured the mood of this fabric in naming it. The piece is generously sized, so I think I'll just set it aside for a while and wait for inspiration.
Caravan is a very complex design. It flows from tightly detailed areas to open areas, punctuated with floating elements. It is very, very interesting and contains many varied design elements such as balloons, shields, faces, webs, plants and a whole lot more. Caravan is printed in hot pink and black inks on a medium pink background. It is truly unique among Steiger designs and hard to categorize, other than to say it is an abstraction and highly stylized. Again, this a generously sized piece of fabric, so I have lots of options when considering how best to use it. People who know me will attest that pink is not a color I often select. But, there is nothing girly-girly about these Harwood Steiger fabrics. And, I must add that I am thrilled to have them in my collection.
These two new Harwood Steiger designed fabrics underscore an important fact: There is no way of ever knowing how many Harwood Steiger designs exist. If only someone had kept records over the years! If you have any Steiger fabric treasures, please, please send me pictures. You just may be hoarding one I've never seen! Contact me here and we'll take it from there.
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