Silk Scarf Painting - Bower Center for the Arts
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Silk Scarf Painting - Bower Center for the Arts
History of Silk Painting Wax resist techniques for embellishing silk can be traced back to India in the second century A.D. and to Java 200 years later where the batik industry flourished. Gutta resist techniques are most likely a more recent development, but probably originated in the Indonesian islands where the pallaquium trees, from which gutta-percha is derived, grow naturally. It’s a bit of mystery how silk painting found it’s way to Europe, but silk painters from France and Hungary believe their teachers learned the craft in France from members of the Russian czar’s family. In the 1920’s, hand-painted silk designs began to appear in haute couture of France. Upon the freeing of the colonies from King George the 3rd via the American Revolutionary War the prohibitive tariffs on silk were averted, thus allowing silk to become a new trend in Colonial American arts. Silk started showing up in samplers, stitched-and-painted pictures and such in the early 1800's, but by the 1840's there was a distinct preference among the few colonial fine artists there were, for painting on silk. The medium was still very expensive to do, and so it was something of high art snobbery to behold or own a silk painting. One may find that the abundance of silk painting waxed and waned with the activity of the silk mills in the New England states from 1840 on. When the mills closed their doors, people stopped painting on silk. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that silk painting really began to be popularized by artists in the United States and it has been gaining popularity as a textile art ever since! Nancy O’Neal … a Bedford area artist and Juried Artist of the Virginia Artisan Center, specializes in hand painted china silk utilizing the application of Jacquard silk dyes. Nancy’s art grows from a childhood rich with creativity and her artistic abilities come naturally from her parents, both of whom were professional artists and affiliated with the highly respected Wustum/Racine Art Museum. The RAM was her playground and classroom. Silk Scarf Painting with Nancy O’Neal Spring 2016 She majored in art at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. Nancy has worked as a theatrical set designer and painter, and was co-owner of an art gallery featuring Virginia Artists. Her art is influenced by nature and the world outside the gallery walls. Her themes are often organic and reflect the surprise found in the flow of colors into natural fibers. It has been 20 years since Nancy was first given the tools to create art in silk and she set it aside until just 2012 when she rekindled her interest in the medium. Her mother taught her many of the techniques she uses for silk painting, which are similar to watercolor. Her personal goals are to study old methods to gain a better understanding of the process, while testing new techniques and discovering what dye does on silk. She explores the many ways to apply the dye and create images and patterns that become a wardrobe statement. Nancy’s passion is that the “wearable” is the “seeable” and she treasures the appreciation each person shows when they wear one of her scarves. www.WearableSilkArt.com Bower Center for the Arts 305 N Bridge St, Bedford VA 24523 540-586-4235 www.bowercenter.org Discover Silk Scarf Painting with Nancy O’Neal Different Techniques Gutta or Resist Technique ... Saturday May 14 9am-4pm Tuition: $ 50. (Pay to Bower Center) Supply fee: $ 30. (Pay to instructor at workshop) Sign up early - workshop size is limited This class will show you the basics of painting on silk. You will have the opportunity to do each of these basic dye applications which include: resist, salt, wet on wet and wet on dry. Your final project will either be done on a 8” X 72” scarf or painting size 21” x 21” square. Try this art form that traces back hundreds of years to wax resist techniques in India. In the 1970s it began to be popularized in the United States and has grown as a textile art ever since. For more information contact Nancy at: [email protected] is applied to the silk as an outline and once the gutta or water-based resist has dried, it acts as a barrier for the dye or paint - keeping the color within the outlined areas of the design and allowing you to achieve sharply defined borders. (Without this barrier, the dye or paint would flow into more of an abstract, undefined pattern). After the dye or paint has been properly set, the clear gutta or resist is removed and a defining line the color of the original fabric remains. Colored guttas and resists are also available that are meant to remain in the fabric. Salt Effect Sprinkling salt on the piece when still wet, and leaving till completely dry before brushing off the salt, produces interesting textural effects. Applying alcohol to dye-painted silk also creates beautiful effects. The size of the crystal of the salt creates different patterns. Water color Effects - Wet on Wet or Dry on Wet Watercolor-like effects can be achieved by applying dye or paint to silk that has been pre-washed and put on stretcher bars whether or not you are using resists (but not if you are using stop-flow). Dyes or paints are applied to the silk with a paint brush, mist sprayer, eye dropper, or other tools to achieve abstract effects. Spraying the silk lightly with water before adding color increases the flow of the dye or paint. Register for classes at Bower Center on line at www.bowercenter.org and pay thru www.lynchburgtickets.com, mail a check to Bower Center for the Arts, P O Box 713, Bedford VA 24523, or pay in person at the Center (Tues/Thur/Fri 11AM-4PM)
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