I made the Bohemian Vest ensemble for Rachel Clark's Ethnic Inspirations in Garments and Quilts, an Exhibition held at Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove CA from 13 Dec to 10 Feb 2010.

From my mother’s side of the family, I am of Bohemian descent.  The Svoboda-Bowers came to America from Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s, most settling in Nebraska, my birthplace.

Needlework, such as embroidery, and handcrafts, like crochet and sewing, have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

Bohemian? 

For me, it’s as much a mind-set as anything.  The art forms I explore: painting, mixed media, wearable art, generally contain squares (somewhere), blasts of color, and show evidence of the hand.  I treasure using fabric and dearly love to sew. 

This vest is an original design, and sometime in the future, I hope I can tell you the story behind the making of it.   The hat is a vogue pattern; the crocheted scarf is made from two fronts of a ready-made vest up-cycled into a scarf.