A sampling of the potential of digital restoration and the design of faux surfaces
This portfolio is a small sample of the pieces I have
produced over the past few years using Photoshop as
my only tool. All are produced by one of three methods.
Most are photographs of extant pieces meticulously
repaired pixel by pixel, then uploaded to the North Carolina
based company Spoonflower to print on fabric.
Plates and tapestries are printed on other sites. The repairs are
accomplished by sampling undamaged areas of the piece
to fill in losses and staining. In the case of the phoenix
fragment, which has lost all color, I have colored it
according to whim.
Some are line drawings that I have filled in with color and
texture. The textures are sampled from existing textiles and
other objects.
The last method is to draw the motif from scratch, then
apply color and texture. In the case of the traditional
Syrian dress, the design fills a dress pattern so that the
pattern may be cut out and sewn together. It has texture,
light, and shadow applied to create the illusion of
embroidery; but these dresses sometimes had the design
painted onto it. Another example in the portfolio is a
drawing of a Mamluk geometric motif from a tent, which
endevours to imitate applique in the Khayamiya style.
