Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-04-08
EXPERT IN DESIGN.
Lydia Bush-Brown Makes
Brief Visit Here.

~ apron should be as beautiful
"A in color and design as an
evening frock," said Lydia Bush
Brown, young Washington artist.
who was in town for few days last
week. visiting her parents before re-
turning to her studio in New York
city. when discussing girls and
clothes and art.
Somehow, girls can never get to-
gether and talk about colors and
lovely materials without the inevi-
table subject of clothes becoming a
prime topic in the conversation. But
then, of course, Lydia Bush Brown
has designed so many really lovely
things to wear. She has long studied
the proper combinations Of colors
and all the other technical equipment
for a designer. and until quite re-
Gently has spent most of her time de-
signing dainty tea gowns and RAIN
bow ScarfS for evening wear.
Lydia-for somehow one cannot call
her Miss Bush Brown. she has such
delightful. unassuming manners and
is so girlishly in earnest about her
work-certainly comes by her artistic
gifts naturally. Her father. Henry Il.
Bush Brown. is leading American
sculptor and president of the Arts
Club of Washington, and her mother
Margaret Lesley BuSh-Brown. is an
extremely talented painter in oils
and does many portraits in chalk,
charcoal and pastel.
Lydia, therefore, grew up with the
smell of putty and clay. paints and
turpentine in her nostrils. She alb
sorbed this atmosphere just as a
flower 'absorbs the light from sun
rays that surround it day after day.
and. like a flowers petals. Lydia's
own talents unfolded.
She went to Pratt Institute in
Brooklyn. n. Y. and studied. taking
a thorough course and specializing in
design.
II was greatly interested in the
crafts, said Lydia, but found that
the things about this work that most
appealed to me were the possibilities
for using all kinds of color-I love color
and the immense satisfaction that I
could acquire from making my own de-
signs"
During the war, she spent some
time at work teaching various crafts
to the soldiers in the hospitals. Later.
she developed particular interest in
wax-resist dyeing. a type of dyeing
that Lydia insists should not be con-
fused with Batik work. In fact, she
much of the so-calltd Batik work
which has become subj fad in the
United States recently.'is not Batik
work at all, but various forms of dye
ing which employ wax.
In this work lately. Lydia Bush
Brown has done unusually interest
ing wall hangings, some of which
show the influence of her trip in the
tropics two years ago. One Of the
unique designs is listed in a travel
ing exhibition which was shown in
Washington last fall and depicts a
blue-gdeen waterfall in darker
landscape of puppies. contrasted with
shades Of gray and emphasized by
blacks. Others. included in the inter-
esting collection now on exhibition
at the Arts Club, are two rusty brick
colored panels with motifs Of white
elephants, leopards and palm trees in
interesting array; lovely scarfs in
sea-blues and greens. representing
waves and starlit skies; and two of
the latest of her works. which sug-
gest the oriental art in their colorings
yet have original Observation-Disclosures sub
jects in both instances being clumps of
seaWood and fishes.
1t is interesting in this connection
to note that Lydia Bush Brown be-
lieves that her training rhythmic
danang classes has had an influence
on. her work. as especially shown in
the rhythmic effect of the school of
fish in her very latest work.
Hangings of this kind, this young