John Mason,
R e d X
photo: © Museum Associates/LACM A
S h o w
s t o S e e
Tw o shirts created
for filmmaker Richard
Linklater in 2010. Left,
a shirt for the opening
of his film
M e a n d O rson
IV e lles.
Right, a shirt
featuring embroidery
inspired by the film
Som e Cam e R u n n in g .
H er m oth er, an e x p e rt seam -
stress, alw a ys had fabric galore
and gave S ever and her sister free
rein w ith the s e w in g m achine.
H e r sister fo llo w e d in their
m o th er’s fo o tstep s, m aking
p e rfe ctly tailored p ieces at age
12. S e v e r p referred to “ th ro w
things to g e th e r.”
T o d a y , her cre ative process
in vo lves se w in g com m ission ed
W e ste r n w e a r from scratch and
cu sto m izin g each p iece w ith
e m b ro id ery, p la yin g on S e v e r’s
fascin ation w ith c o w b o y s as
th e ultim ate m ach o gu y s - y e t
to tal dandies in w h a t th e y w ear.
“T h e y ’d w ear these crazy, em bel-
lished shirts - w a y fancier than
w h a t their w iv e s or girlfrien ds
w ere w ea rin g .”
N o w in A u s tin , T e x a s ,
S e v e r m akes and sells custom
dresses, ch ild ren ’s cloth es,
m en ’s shirts, cam era straps,
and guitar straps - all w ith a
W e ste r n flair. “ I h ave alw ays
e n jo y ed the ‘fu n -n ess’ o f W e s t -
ern w e a r,” explain s S e v e r , “but
liv in g in M o n ta n a solidified m y
ob sessio n w ith this A m erica n
co stu m e.” S h e ’s a fa vo rite o f
m usicians, w h o order shirts for
th e stage or gu itar straps th at
reflect their style. B u t others
appreciate this u n iq u ely A m e r i-
can sty le to o . “ I lo v e th at a h ip -
ster, a ro cker, and a la w y e r can
all e n jo y and w a n t this w o r k ,”
she says.
S ever is creating m odern heir-
loom s. “I like m aking things that
feel special to p eople,” she says.
O n e couple asked S ev er to m ake
m atching sw in g dance clothes for
their w ed d in g reception in a huge
old dance hall. T h e y had gotten
engaged under a tree, so she used
a tree as the focal p o in t o f the
em b ro id ery, h id in g their nam es
am ong the foliage. “ I can ’t im ag-
ine grab b in g a pre-m ade gar-
m en t and em b ellish in g that. It
w o u ld n ’t fe e l righ t.” S e v e r is
m in d ful o f “th e en ergetic qual-
ity o f e v e r y ste p .”
T h e d isciplin e o f cra ft com es
th rou gh in h er cu stom pattern s
and sharp silh ou ettes, the art
in the em b ro id ered stories she
tells o f p e o p le ’s lives. A lo n g
w ith h er clo th in g bu siness,
she ju ggle s raising tw o children
(and m ultiple ch icken s) w ith
her m usician husband and m ak-
in g m ixed -m ed ia illustration s -
am ong oth er artw ork.
In addition to W e ste rn
w ea r, S e v e r m akes sto p-m o tio n
m usic vid e o s fo r her husband,
h an d-em b ro id ered sch ool p o r-
traits, and garm ent w o rk intend-
ed fo r th e w alls. “ I w a n t to
b e a m aster o f on e cra ft, b u t I
alw a ys w a n t to exp lo re e v e r y -
th in g I can g e t m y hands o n ,”
she says.
S o far, so go o d .
-M A R T H A H O P K IN S
k ath iesever.virb .co m
M a r t h a H o p k in s w o r k s o n b o o k s ,
a d v e r t is in g , a n d d e s ig n i n A u s t i n ,
T e x a s . S h e w a n t s a n e m b r o id e r e d
s w in g d r e s s f o r V a le n t i n e ’s D a y .
A shirt commissioned
by a wife for her
husband, a big fan
of the family dog.
Another shirt for
Richard Linklater, with
imagery inspired by
R io
B ra v o ,
a favorite film.
S h o w s listed A - Z b y state.
V i e w th e co m p lete calendar
at am erican craftm ag.o rg
C A / C la rem o n t
S c rip p s C o lle g e , R u th
C h a n d le r W illia m s o n G a lle r y
C l a y ’s T e c t o n ic
S h i f t : J o h n
M a s o n , K e n
P r i c e , a n d
P e t e r V o u lk o s ,
1 9 5 6 - 1 9 6 8
to A p r . 8
rcw g.scrip p sco lle ge .e d u
M a s o n (a b o v e ), P r ic e , and
V o u lk o s sh attered n otion s o f
cla y as a p u rely fu n ction al m ed i-
um . E a rly style-d efin in g w o rk s
fro m all three artists are sh ow n
to ge th e r, co n n ectin g their
im p act on p o st-w a r C alifo rn ia
art and the studio cra ft w o rld .
C A / S a n D ie g o
M in g e i In te rn atio n a l M u s e u m
N e w J e w e lr y i n a N e w M e d iu m :
T h e A r t o f P o ly m e r C la y
t o ju n . 17
m in gei.org
C u ra ted b y R a ch e l C arren ,
p o lym er h istorian , p ro p o n en t,
and artist, this e xh ib itio n
sh o w cases th e sculptable s y n -
th e tic m aterial’s use in colo rfu l,
refined je w e lr y d raw n from
th e m useum ’s perm an en t
co llectio n .
D C / W a s h in g to n
T h e T e x t ile M u s e u m
D r a g o n s , N a g a s , a n d
C r e a t u r e s o f t h e D e e p
F e b . 3 -J a n . 6, 2013
tex tilem u seu m .o rg
C eleb ra tin g the ye a r o f the
d ragon , th e T e x tile M u seu m
reaches in to its co llectio n to
d isplay w o r k from th e 16th to
20th cen turies sh o w in g d rag-
on s, snakes, and oth er serpen -
tin e creatures. W ith c o n -
n ectio n s to w a ter, rainfall,
and fe rtility , th ese m yth ical
beasts h ave fou n d their w a y
in to A sia n and A sian -in sp ired
w o r k from around th e globe.
feb/mari2 american craft 015
