Charlene Schlotzhauer hopes her new downtown Lawrence store teaches people an important lesson about art âÂÂ:quot; it doesnâÂÂt just hang from walls.

At her store, Prairie Pond Studio, 809 Mass., it is much more likely to hang from your shoulders. The store features what Schlotzhauer calls âÂÂwearable art.â It includes everything from silk ruanas, a type of cape, to kutas, a style of African shirts. And all the clothing is custom dyed by Schlotzhauer and other area textile artists.

âÂÂMy philosophy is really to encourage people to be themselves and to make a real statement about themselves,â Schlotzhauer said. âÂÂI think one of the best ways to do that is with wearable art.âÂÂ

Schlotzhauer, a former art director for the engineering firm Black & Veatch, opened the store in early October in the former McQueen Jewelers building. She said the response from customers had been overwhelming.

âÂÂLawrence has been great for this,â Schlotzhauer said. âÂÂThis is clothing for people who like to be expressive ,and the majority of this community is very expressive.âÂÂ

And it isnâÂÂt just college students who are expressing themselves with tie-dyed clothing. Schlotzhauer said her best customers tended to be older.

âÂÂThis is a great place for old hippies,â Schlotzhauer said. âÂÂThe baby boomers are really our target market. We just havenâÂÂt grown up yet. We still want to play, and if we have something neat to play in, thatâÂÂs even better.âÂÂ

Schlotzhauer became involved in textile art after taking a class at the Lawrence Arts Center seven years ago. The class piqued her interest so much that she enrolled in Kansas UniversityâÂÂs School of Fine Arts.

Now she dyes clothing every day at her studio in her rural Douglas County home to bring into the store. She said her style was relatively simple.

âÂÂWhat we try to do is help people look like an artist or look a little Bohemian,â Schlotzhauer said. âÂÂIt not the tie-dye that people remember from the âÂÂ60s.

âÂÂProbably more people are wearing it now than back then because the colors are more subdued. We donâÂÂt have so much of the tartness or Jerry Garcia look these days.âÂÂ

The store, which employs eight people, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Schlotzhauer said the average outfit at her store ran about $125, although she has items ranging from $5 to $500 for people who are willing to dare to look different.

âÂÂIf theyâÂÂre looking for something that matches, theyâÂÂre not going to find it here,â Schlotzhauer said.