Arden Nutt’s passion for textile design and athletic endeavors became apparent at a young age. From competing in swimming, gymnastics, basketball, tennis, field hockey, softball and bodybuilding to honor studies in Textile Design at Rhode Island School of Design, her study of the two arts has run parallel.

WORK EXPERIENCE IN TEXTILE DESIGN INCLUDES:

1990s - CURRENT

Personal collection of hand screened silk scarves
Collectors include: Paula Abdul,Geena Davis,Dionne Warwick, Redgrave sisters, Frank Romero

1980s

The Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia: 2 internships Hand Painting on Silk for designer Michael Katz In-house Textile Designer for WilliSmith/Williwear

WORK EXPERIENCE IN BODY WORK AND FITNESS:

1990s - CURRENT

Own Personal Training Business
Clients have included: actresses Geena Davis and Karina Lombard and Ex-Laker Elden Campbell and hundreds of average Joes

1984 - PRESENT

Modeling: Print work, Runway and Artist’s subject

THE VISUAL SEDUCTION OF REPETITIVE PATTERN

My love affair with fabric started early with the tactile satin border on my baby blanket. But it was seeing my great grandfather's swatches of the French silks he had imported to New York around the turn of last century that lead me to study printmaking at Parsons during high school and then receive my BA in Textile Design from The Rhode Island School of Design. While working as the textile designer for WilliWear in New York in the late 80's, I was introduced to the art of bodybuilding, another art form based on the study of repetition. Weight training has reps in sets of exercises, as well a organized eating, natural supplementation and fitness plan. The final work is the accumulated effects of daily habits. It's that envisioning what the end result of one thing repeated that absorbs my focus.

Venice, California, a mecca of bodybuilding and hub for artists, has been an ideal spot for pursuing my obsession with the rep. Whether it be in the gym or my printing studio, body and art come together in my study of the fabric of life and the nature of how it works.

From the beat of our heart to our cells and the replication of our DNA, we are created and exist because of the power of repetition. Our world is held together by the threads of predictable repetitive occurrences in our natural world. Our inescapable connection to repetitive patterns can lead us towards an ideal. Practice makes perfect.

This collection of 100% silk scarves represents my fascination with investigating the rep. My instinct is to recreate those designs in nature that have some kind of visual effect perhaps intangible, like the transitory pattern sunlight makes through blinds on fabric or the trails of smoke and currents of water mimicked in a length of silk.