02 Textile Design

02.3 Fabric Painting and Dying

Dryden, D.M. (1993). Fabric painting and dyeing for the theatre. Portsmouth: Heinemann. ISBN 0-435-08624, 256 pages, softcover $34.95 U.S.

Reviewed by Cecile Clayton-Gouthro, University of Manitoba

This is the third book in a series of theatre costume-related publications, which include Rosemary Ingham and Elizabeth Coveys duo: The Costume Designers Handbook and The Costume Technician's Handbook. As their titles suggest, these texts are intended for use in the theatre, but their usefulness as resource material is not limited to that domain. Deborah Dryden's book is particularly suited to art and surface design courses at the high school level or at a postsecondary institution. The book's introduction to dyeing and the section on safety are so valuable that no school involved in any activity involving dye should be without a copy.
The author is a professor of theatre at the University of California at San Diego. A costume designer for theatres from the Guthrie in Minneapolis to the Oregon Shakespear Festival, Dryden understands her draft very will and has given workshops on fabric painting and dyeing throughout Canada and the United States.
This is an extremely concise and comprehensive text, covering every aspect of fabric surface design from hand painting, resist dyeing, printing, marbling, silk screening to airbrushing. Because it is written for costume designers, it includes techniques on distressing fabric to give it an aged appearance. Each of the techniques is clearly outlined in step-by-step detail accompanied by helpful illustrations in black and white as well as color.
The book's value is enhanced by quick reference charts on colorfastness and methods of fabric painting, glossary of terms, technical conversions in the appendix, and a list of suppliers in Canada and the United States. It also includes a selected bibliography and index for easy reference.
This is very much a 'hands-on' instructional text written by someone who has experienced what she writes about. Dryden dispels any idea that surface design is all fun. Having read the book from cover to cover, I cannot say that it made me eager to rush to my studio, and that, I believe, is its weakness. Surface design is hard work, but it can be very satisfying. The author fails to covey the joy involved in such work by presenting her valuable information in a somewhat preachy tone. Having said that, I would still make it a required text for any surface design-related course and recommend that every school library have a copy.