Mt. Airy fiber artist's stunning work at Phila. Craft Show November 4-7

by JIM WEAVER

Risa Benson learned to knit before she was old enough to go to school. Growing up in Chestnut Hill in a family with strong ties to Austria, she was expected to master needlework at an early age. "I had no idea it would eventually lead to a career as a clothing designer and fiber artist," she said.

Benson, who now lives in Mt. Airy, is among the 195 craft artists who will be showing and selling their work at the 28th annual Philadelphia Craft Show, Nov. 4-7, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City. Presented by the Women's Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the event is the premier exhibition of contemporary American craft in the nation. This is the seventh time since 1996 that Benson has been chosen as an exhibitor.

Benson studied painting at Rhode Island School of Design, but by the time she graduated she was a divorced single mother and needed a job to support herself and her child. She spent a decade in Colorado running a small craft business and teaching dance, but in 1983 she returned to Philadelphia. By then she was already designing women's clothing and producing original garments. Her early exposure to knitting proved important.

"I like to make garments that are soft and fit loosely on the body," she said, "and knitted fabric is ideal for this." Benson makes knitted shells, sweaters, scarves, jackets, coats and even pants. "Everything but underwear."

While her garments can be worn together as an ensemble, most are sold as separates. "One of the nice things about my designs is you can wear them in the daytime with a pair of jeans or as dress-up in the evening over a nice skirt or pants," Benson said.

Benson nearly always dresses in black, but she uses a range of muted colors and black in her work. She is interested in borders rather than overall patterns, and explains that borders are not just edges, but specifically defined patterns in limited areas of the fabric. Her work is completely original and includes her personal interpretations of Persian, Renaissance and African designs. She uses soft Italian rayon and American boucle yarns to knit her fabrics, producing an elegant product that is feather-weight and drapes beautifully on the body.

One of Benson's jackets has a knitted fabric on one side and woven fabric on the other. "It's very difficult to make this type of garment (it takes 14 hours just to sew it) since the materials are largely incompatible," she said. "But you have two completely different jackets in one garment. The knit side for day and the silk side for evening." The jacket sells for $1,000.

Benson often hand-paints decorations on her garments in subtle colors. She continually experiments with fabric dyes and dying techniques to achieve unusual colors and effects. A certain black dye on silk produces not black but a wonderful black raspberry ice cream color. Benson described the unique color of one garment as burnt, charred, almost destroyed but wonderful. While Benson's designs are fashionable, they are also timeless.

Retail craft shows have been Benson's primary marketing outlet, and she has participated in as many as 20 a year. "I'd much rather be making garments than selling them," she said, "but the Philadelphia Craft Show is by far my best outlet. The people here are more knowledgeable about fiber crafts and the amount of effort that goes into producing an original handmade garment." Like other craft artists, Benson has experienced the customer who knows little or nothing about what goes into the work and is aghast at the price.

Ticket information for the Philadelphia Craft Show is available at 215-684-7930 or www.pmacraftshow.org. This year's show will also feature 26 craft artists from Ireland.