Not Your Typical Fashion Designer
Dolan Geiman was meant to be involved in the arts. First of all, most of his family members are artists of various sorts. Secondly, he was born in Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley and still draws inspiration from the natural beauty and rural lifestyle of his youth.
Today, his many varied creations include handmade clothing and accessories, and a variety of collages and panel paintings that combine his fine art background with folk art and pop aesthetics.
One of the unique things about Dolan’s art is that he always works with recycled materials. More to the point, he collects “found” textiles from abandoned buildings and other sources, and then screen-prints and otherwise modifies them into something completely new, like a canvas cummerbund belt or a complex collage.
The reasoning behind this recycling (besides the fact that is indeed beneficial to the environment) is that he prefers to use “things that already have character to them.” He incorporates clothing into all his work – even the collages and panel paintings – by screen-printing pieces, cutting them up, and re-sewing them into something completely different.
For Dolan, the creative process begins when he discovers a piece of fabric or an image that resonates with him. Then he prints an image on it (recent favorites include old-fashioned houses and vintage-era Hollywood stars). “I’m always thinking about why these particular images are appealing to me,” he says. Lately, he’s getting into more tactile and three-dimensional effects in his collage work as well as his clothing collection.
Another project of Dolan’s is the creation of lots of small flat panel paintings. These are ten- by twelve-inch paintings made of silk and paint on wood. “They are still works of art because I make each one by hand, but they sustain my other work because I can produce them in large amounts.” These panel paintings are available at a number of local Chicago retailers (listed below), and are a unique addition to almost any style of decor.
The artist describes his creative process as similar to cooking on the fly. “I just go at it with no pre-planning at all. It’s like baking a cake with whatever ingredients are lying around.” Looking around at Dolan’s work, he sure bakes one delicious cake.
www.dolangeimanartist.com
Dolan Geiman’s work can be found at:
April Sevens
1945 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
312.455.1965
www.aprilsevens.com
Chicago City Arts Gallery
410 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
312.235.0490
www.chicagocityarts.com
Clothes Optional
2918 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60657
773.296.6630
www.myspace.com/clothesoptionalchicago
Sacred Art
2040 W. Roscoe
Chicago, IL 60618
773.404.8790
www.sacredartstore.com
Seagrass
895 Green Bay Rd.
Winnetka, IL 60093
847.446.8444
www.seagrasshome.com
Photos courtesy of Dolan Geiman.
SeeMore Shopping Contributing Writer – J. Zenn.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. SeeMoreShopping incurs all expenses associated with reviews. Publ. 02/07.
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