Rebekah Meier - Many Shades of Green

Shepherding the Evolution of Crafts

Rebekah Meier, a one-woman multimedia and crafts force, uses recycled materials and found objects when creating her hand-dyed fabric art — mosaics, collages, quilts, luggage tags, wedding keepsakes, boxes, and other artwork.

She loves Rit Dye for its green ethos. "I never have to worry about toxicity when I use liquid Rit," Rebekah says, "and I can blend and customize the colors I want in my work. It's also convenient that Rit dyes are available at most stores, so I can easily recommend them to my students."

Some of the many recycled materials Rebekah uses in her creations are paper gift tissue, buttons, and a variety of found objects that serve as stamps on fabric -- or can be sprayed through to create designs. "Lace will leave an interesting impression when pulled off fabric, for example," she says, "as well as batting and fusion webs."

An Inventive, Hands-On Artist

Rebekah enjoyed working with her hands from an early age. She started with small children's crafts such as needlework samplers, and her projects grew increasingly complex with age. She eventually created items that she sold at crafts shows and online, and she was particularly adept at creating one-of-a-kind vintage dolls.

Rebekah wanted an old-fashioned aesthetic for her dolls, and she found Rit's tan dye enabled her to achieve this charming, timeworn effect. "The tan creates a vintage impression usually achieved with tea bags. I also use tan to tone down another hue, or to give a color another effect. I've been using Rit tan throughout my career – it's one of my favorites."

Sell The Concept Instead of the Item

In time, it occurred to Rebekah that she could benefit more from selling her ideas than the actual items she made — so she created pattern lines instead. She sold project concepts and outlines to magazines, which led to creating materials for manufacturers; for example, she was asked to design the advertising and booth models for fabric and paper companies at trade shows.

Rebekah writes a monthly column for Create and Decorate magazine, which is rife with inspired new craft and decorative ideas, and contributes regularly to Crafts ‘n' Things and Sew Somerset magazines. She's never at a loss for inspiration, as ideas seem to multiply when she's immersed in what she loves to do. Another natural offshoot for Rebekah was to present her artistic concepts in book form, so she's published several books to date, with another hitting the bookshelves soon.

Her first book, Romantic Weddings: 25 Handcrafted Accessories and Keepsakes, proved to be incredibly popular, since many people prefer to have distinctive and personalized tokens at weddings. In the book, she guides brides-to-be to create dyed jewelry, gift boxes, hair accessories, purses, invitations, guest books, menu holders, thank you cards, memory books and more – using ribbon, beads, lace and pearls. Her basic craft techniques are easy for a beginner to learn, and her style has a romantic Victorian flair, with pearl accents, pastel colors, floral patterns, monogrammed details and elegant script.

Books on creative papercrafting and scrapbooking soon followed. Sew Easy Papercrafting: Creative Paper Projects Featuring Fabrics, Stitching and Notions, showcased the hot trend of decorating paper with dye, fabric, buttons, bows, ribbons and sewing. Scrapbooking Techniques for Beginners emphasized shadow stamping, painted backgrounds, metallic rub-on waxes, and unique embellishments like buckles and charms. Special sections were devoted to aging, texturing, incorporating ribbon and lace trims, and creating pockets.

Rebekah's latest book is Fabric Art Collage: 40+ Mixed Media Techniques. It's a wonderful primer for using a vast array of different materials, and includes information on mastering more than 40 different multimedia techniques. Her book is a testament to how much can be achieved with dye, paper, fabric, talent and a rampant imagination.

Sharing Expertise and Sparking Inspiration

Rebekah teaches at various quilting shows across the country, as well as at national art retreats. One of her current offerings is a Mixed Media Fabric class, where students use paint and ink to create layers of design, then add stamping, stenciling, image transferring, and their own freeform designs to craft a truly original piece of artwork.

Her work can be seen at www.RebekahMeier.net. On her blog, www.RebekahMeier.typepad.com she offers tantalizing sneak peaks of forthcoming book and magazine projects, plus step-by-step instruction for creating items such as an embossed batting-covered journal, fabric luggage tags with bamboo batting, a collage box, and more.

What does Rebekah's future hold? More magazine articles, more books, more classes, and endless creative exploration with colors and new materials. Her next book will focus on collage and mixed media techniques, and she intends to continue repurposing and recycling items for a greener and more colorful future.