fabric or paper, embedded or etched into glass or resin, or cut from wood, metal or plastic. When patterns are cut from metal or wood, a special file called a DFX (Drawing Exchange Format) is created. That file can be read by precision machinery that uses either waterjet or laser to cut the pattern. In all cases, they can be output as one complete image (as in the case of a curtain) or divided into panels that are continuous parts of an entire image (in the case of a trifold screen or panelized window treatment). One of the first trifold screens she made was commissioned by the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine. The inserts for “Grove” were laser cut from .04” brass. The mortise and tenon cherry wood frame was fashioned by Ryan Rhoades, a fine woodworker based in Lewiston with whom she collaborated for over a year and a half. It is an exquisite piece that I’ve no doubt William Morris would have agreed is a perfect union of beauty and function. Another trifold has panels made of two layers of waterjet cut brushed aluminum with a layer of rice paper sandwiched between. Individual panels can be inserted or removed through channels cut into the frame. Then there are the screens made with fabric inserts. Contrasting patterns are printed on silk or sateen and stretched over custom aluminum frames that slide into the
channels. A great deal of craft is represented in each frame, and while they are both artful and functional, Laurie is sensitive to the fact that not everyone would find them affordable. So lately she has been experimenting with etching glass and embedding optical grade resins, as well as leaning more toward frameless applications and fixed partitions. Besides trifolds, she has designed fixed privacy screens and room dividers, panelized window treatments and curtains. She is currently working on a partition that the client wants simply to block a home appliance from view. If you talk long enough with Laurie, it’s clear that she is a very visual person with
an inventive streak. It’s why she is also open to creating custom patterns based on what clients have around their property, or something they really love. She made a room divider curtain for her sister, who lives in New York City, using a drawing she did of a scrub pine outside their family summer house. In that way it has particular meaning. “It’s basically been about developing patterns that I think are interesting and evocative and figuring out ways to apply them that might be useful for people,” says Laurie. R For more information on lyos lightscreens visit lauriedowney.net or email her at ld@lauriedowney.net
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