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DEBORAH LESER Deborah Leser is a significant contemporary textile designer who specialises in limited length production of screenprinted and painted textiles. Her work often uses Australia's natural and cultural environment as a source of inspiration. "The strong shapes, textures and colours, the clarity of light, our water, Sydney Harbour, the opals and their brilliant magic, the desert, the land of oz, so vast and pulsating, the smell of gum, the sweetness and strength of Australian native flora and fauna - these are the special essences of Australia that I wish to capture" (Leser, Artist statement, 1985). Deborah has been hand painting and dyeing fabrics since the late 1970s. Initially trained in graphic design at Randwick Technical College, Sydney, Leser developed an interest in batik after a visit to Java in 1976 where she studied wax resist dyeing with Kuswadji K. Further travel and studying in Indonesia, India, Japan and England influenced her work and she combines a variety of techniques to create her fabrics including wax resist and brush dyeing, Japanese stencil dyeing, batik and screen printing. Deborah opened her own studio in Sydney in 1984, named Kobo, producing one-off fabrics used for scarves, clothes, cushions and lampshades. She also designed for John Kaldor, Linda Jackson and Prue Acton and supplied work to Flamingo Park, Coo-ee Australian Emporium, and Distelfink Gallery, Melbourne. Deborah has continued developing resist dyeing techniques based on the use of natural minerals. "Obsessed with minerals", she released her 'cracked mineral collection' in 1998 based on the textures, forces and elements in nature. H: 24/2/98).
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