Ellen Gienger

Oregon fiber artist, Ellen Gienger, studied fine art at California State University and the School for Art Institute of Chicago. Early in her career, Ellen worked with textile designer, Douglas Ram Samuj, created striking clothing from Ram Samuj fabrics.

In 1994, Ellen rekindled her interest in painting, learned about dyes, and started creating her own fabrics and clothing. She moved to Bend, Oregon, and settled into the warehouse studio on the river where she creates her elegant fabrics and flowing pieced silk clothing.

Ellen works by rolling out a large bolt of silk and applying layers of block printing and hand painting to create dramatic and varied abstract patterning on her fabrics. Each of her art-to-wear garments is hand made, one piece at a time, and each is one of a kind.