In this issue, join us for articles on Mexican Sericulture with Mary Umlauf, Teaching a Silk Painting Class with Hellenne Vermillion and Forming a Silk Painting Chapter with Suz Knight.  Featured artists are Christine Sutherland and Hellenne Vermillion.  This is the premier issue for Mary Umlauf who replaces Tunizia Abdur-Raheem as Editor.

In This Issue

Wisteria by Hellenne Vermillion

Modern Renaissance Woman
Hellenne Vermillion

Hellenne Vermillion insists that she has only been working in silk painting for 7 years, but the quality of her work belies her statement. Like many active silk painters, she admits an interest in using dye on silk for much longer. But it didn’t start with silk. “During my BFA at Georgia State University, I discovered my love for clay. I loved the dirt, the grit and the carving endless lines into it.”

So how did she make such a drastic transition in media to French dye on silk fabric? She explains, “I discovered that I loved color just as much as the tactile feeling of clay. When my son, Cerulean, was an infant; I needed to take care of him and continue to pursue my art. I pursued oil painting because I could watch my son and paint simultaneously, but I wished to learn silk painting. Silk painting classes weren’t available 18 years ago, so I cooked at the kitchen stove, and while the pasta boiled I painted on canvas in the dining room.”  (To read more, go to Vol. 20, Issue No. 2.)

Blossom by Christine Sutherland

Finding the Flow With Christine Sutherland

Christine Sutherland approaches her art intuitively and expressively. If she were a musician, she’d be a jazz musician. If she were a dancer, she’d be a modern dancer. Christine describes herself as trusting her experience to go with the flow and improvise.

Like all improvisational artists, underlying the best of them is some form of rigorous training. The best jazz musicians have undergone classical music training. The best modern improvisational dancers have trained in other forms for years.

The Evolution into Silk Painting

Christine is just the same. Having studied both painting and illustration in college and received a Bachelor of Science in Art and Illustration from Utah State University, she has used her natural talent along with her education as a springboard to become a highly developed artist.

“My emphasis was in Illustration,” Christine says. “But I preferred the figurative art and fine art classes. It was obvious early on that I was in the wrong major. But I finished up with illustration because I had too many years behind me and I wanted to be persistent. (To read more, go to Vol. 20, Issue No. 2.)

Artists and Artistry:
Teaching Silk Painting with
Hellenne Vermillion