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About
the Artist
In
1983, while extensive renovations were being done on her home,
artist Linda Curran retreated to her basement with a piece
of canvas and her paints. The result was her first floorcloth.
A
year later, after the birth of her first child in 1984, Linda
decided to make the craft of painting floorcloths her vocation
and entered the world of craft shows. Now the mother of three
children, she creates up to 200 floorcloths a year, as well
as many smaller pieces, and sells them through local stores
and craft shows.
Her
Work
In
the eighteenth century, early settlers produced their own
floor coverings, fashioned out of sailcloth, oil paints and
varnish.
Linda's
floorcloths are created in much the same way. One hundred
percent cotton canvas is stretched and primed with exterior
latex paint. The decorative painting is done with high quality
acrylic paints. Over the years, Linda has developed her own
painting techniques through trial and error and makes use
of many different tools to create interesting backgrounds
and effects. The finished product is given several coats of
a durable, flexible, waterproof sealer on both the front and
back.Any new products are thoroughly tested in her own home
before being used on floorcloths for sale.
Advice
from Linda
In
looking for a floorcloth, design is of course important to
ensure that the floorcloth fits in with the surrounding decor.
But, keep in mind also that the floorcloth will be subject
to abuse from everyday wear. Depending upon your geographic
location, your floorcloth may be exposed to extreme temperature
and humidity changes throughout the year. As well, a floorcloth
at an entranceway must stand up to such rigours as melting
snow, rock salt, sand and grit.
A
well-crafted floorcloth:
- Lies
perfectly flat - no warps in the canvas and edges
that stay down without curving upwards
- Does
not crack when rolled up - this is a sign of an
inferior finish and could mean that the floorcloth will
crack when molding to imperfections in your floor or on
ceramic tile (always be careful to bring floorcloth to room
temperature when unrolling)
- Is
adequately waterproofed - well primed and sealed
on the back
You
can be assured that the quality of Linda's work is exceptional,
created with full attention to all the details that will ensure
years of service.
See
Care
and Cleaning for more details
FROM
LINDA'S STUDIO: (click on the image to view details)
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