Ever wondered why shower curtains are so boring? Its because the manufacturers of mass produced shower curtains are limited to how they can print. Generally a roller type printing is employed which means each design is repeated every 33 inches. On a 6 ft. x 6 ft. shower curtain the same design is repeated three times. That is why there is an endless stock of odd flower and geometric designs.
There used to be large silk screen operations available in the USA , but they have long ago faded from use. Last I checked one machine was down and the other was rarely operated . Large silk screen printing offers more design options but is extremely costly, wasteful and has become a dinosaur in this high technology age. Overseas productions can out source this work for far more reasonable costs to the manufacturers but often the quality grows less and less.
As consumer tastes reflect current styles and colors, often commercial designs are "in" today is "out" tomorrow . No matter what is available the end result feels common and often plain boring. The first house I renovated I became obsessed with finding the right shower curtain for my much agonized over , brand new bathroom. After gutting the entire room down to the dirt filled crawl space I grew increasingly frustrated because nothing I found fit the bill.
As an artist, I decided to paint my own. That produced even more anxiety. This would not be an easy task. What materials do I use? What sort of paint would allow multiple washings? After spending all that time painting something I did not want it to fade or peel off.........and mostly where would I paint something so huge??? Eleven months later I had experimented on everything I could get my hands on and had come up with something that was worthy of my much adored new bathroom. I never dreamt it would turn into a business. Soon people were asking me to paint a shower curtain for their home and suddenly it hit me........If I was bored with commercial designs there must be others that are bored too !
In March 2008, I will celebrate my twentieth year hand painting shower curtains. I have since moved on and renovated other homes but that first bathroom still has a special place in my heart. Especially since the 10 year old shower curtain designed for the space helped sell the house !! It just goes to show, if you want it done right, do it yourself and do it the best you can..... you never know where it might lead.
I call my work "Functional Art" . As an artist , I specialize in 6ft x 6ft hand-painted , machine washable paintings that are used as shower curtains, quilts and wall hangings. In my opinion, regardless of the size of your home, you live in three rooms---the bedroom, kitchen and bath. "Isn't this where your art should be?"
Now in my 20th year, my work is easily recognized . Styles range from big busted BEACH BABIES to dramatic abstracts. I'm a great colorists. I've always found it interesting to put unusual colors together. That's what keeps it fun for me. Working with dyes on canvas and a method I invented the end result is soft to the touch and extremely durable. I have painted thousands of shower curtains and hear from my clients all the time how they have used the same curtain for 8-10-12 years.
I welcome custom orders, sizes and colors and I will also personalize your order. All work is guaranteed. Most curtains run between $95 -$165 and there are over 120 to choose from on my website.
b.mclane
http://showercurtainart.com
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