Featured Artist : Daisy BakerDaisyCakes Designs

Textile dyeing is my primary medium, but I also enjoy a wide variety of other types of art—photography, painting, drawing, mixed media collage, ceramics, and sculpture. In 2015, I tie-dyed my first item of clothing (a pair white jean shorts) using a basic kit from a craft store. I thought it would be fun to make a few more items and list them on my Etsy. They sold immediately, and I began getting requests to make more... Over the next couple of years, I decided to vend at local festivals and art fairs and eventually turned my hobby into a business, DaisyCakes Designs. Currently, I make clothing for men and women, kids, and even babies! I have also expanded my business to include wall tapestries and bedding. My products can be found at www.shopdaisycakes.com or on Instagram at @shopdaisycakes.

My textile designs are a celebration of the patterns that surround us, and the beauty in serendipity. I use a technique involving ice and Procion Fiber Reactive Dye to create psychedelic wearable art. I consider the ice dyeing technique to be a modern twist on a classic art form that has a lot of cool and important history.  

Since many of the pieces I dye are clothing, there is an element of personal expression by the wearer. One of the reasons I started making clothing is because I view freedom of self-expression as paramount. In addition, due to the spontaneous nature of the ice-dyeing process, no two pieces ever come out identical. They are beautifully unique, just like the people who wear them. I like calling my artworks “technicolor seek-and-finds.” Viewers are encouraged to form their own narratives while interacting with them, as they are reminiscent of Rorschach inkblot tests. One may notice images resembling fauna and flora, celestial bodies, or even microscopic processes like cell division. 

In my personal life, yoga and meditation are a very important part of my routine. I view art as a meditative practice. My primary focus as of late has been exploring ways to create different mandalas. Mandalas are known to symbolize the individual’s relation to “the whole” or infinity and can aid in meditation. The more I empower myself through art and my yoga/meditation practice, the more I want to help others do the same. I recently completed a program at a local elementary school in which I taught over 450 students how to create ice-dyed mandalas using white cotton bandanas (from Dharma).

My ultimate goal is to be a mentor for children and to connect with them through art therapy. I will use art as a tool to help them build their confidence, realize their true potential, and achieve their dreams. I want to be the person for kids that I wish I had when I was growing up. I want them to know that they can do anything. I just want to inspire and connect with as many people as I can and the best way I know how to do that is through art.