Silk is such an exciting and seductive medium! I was a watercolorist until I touched dye to fabric 11 years ago and have been hooked ever since. Lately I’ve been playing with a technique using Resistad to create printed texture. These are a few of my experiments

Silk is such an exciting and seductive medium! I was a watercolorist until I touched dye to fabric 11 years ago and have been hooked ever since. Lately I’ve been playing with a technique using Resistad to create printed texture. These are a few of my experiments

I love color, especially the way colors play with each other. I take inspiration from architecture and nature and give it a whimsical view.

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"The ever changing fluid process of painting on silk gives my work an expression of colorful movement. My vibrant art evolves, layer after layer, like life, charged with an emotional vision that offers joy to the viewer and wearer alike".

"The ever changing fluid process of painting on silk gives my work an expression of colorful movement. My vibrant art evolves, layer after layer, like life, charged with an emotional vision that offers joy to the viewer and wearer alike".

'Ocean deep' is an art work based on memory and reflection on Kelp. Living in the sea it grows towards the light, whilst anchored to the ocean floor. Kelp's buoyancy and the way it moves in a fluid environment reminds us of this unique, beautiful plant and our own origins and dependence on earth.

ARTIST STATEMENT Color and movement are my focus in my sky paintings. My work can be described as abstractions with a reference to Nature. My environment is one of open fields and large expanses of sky. The weather is in a constant state of flux and sky colors are everchanging with temperature and wind. I want the viewer to feel this energy and excitement in my work. The techniques I use in depicting these sky abstractions are also evolving. I have found 16mm charmeuse to be a fabric that works well for my work. It stays wet longer than other weights of silk and the sheen intensifies the brightness of the color.

ARTIST STATEMENT Color and movement are my focus in my sky paintings. My work can be described as abstractions with a reference to Nature. My environment is one of open fields and large expanses of sky. The weather is in a constant state of flux and sky colors are everchanging with temperature and wind. I want the viewer to feel this energy and excitement in my work. The techniques I use in depicting these sky abstractions are also evolving. I have found 16mm charmeuse to be a fabric that works well for my work. It stays wet longer than other weights of silk and the sheen intensifies the brightness of the color.

My work in fiber is shaped by nature and the seasons—changing light, changing shadows, changing forms, changing time. Flowing with the movement of the sun and the moon, growing older, experiencing joys and sadness. Gathering wisdom and finding stillness.

My work in fiber is shaped by nature and the seasons—changing light, changing shadows, changing forms, changing time. Flowing with the movement of the sun and the moon, growing older, experiencing joys and sadness. Gathering wisdom and finding stillness.

My work in fiber is shaped by nature and the seasons—changing light, changing shadows, changing forms, changing time. Flowing with the movement of the sun and the moon, growing older, experiencing joys and sadness. Gathering wisdom and finding stillness.

During a stressful period due to the Covid pandemic, painting the blooming tulip brought me solace and gave me hope.

Hellenne Vermillion works both in clay and silk dye painting. Born and growing up in Japan, the Japanese culture taught her that there is “spirit” in all living and non-living things due to the influences of Shinto - a non-religious belief system. Together with this idea, the masks of the traditional Japanese Noh drama which hauntingly project the spirit of a character being portrayed, led her to be interested in creating “spirit” masks. Her love of working with wet clay led her to create “generic” clay masks which she fires to harden and then glues painted silk to the surface. Painted silks add color and movement to the clay base, which are then further embellished with more painted silk in three dimensional design, various threads, felted wool and other items.

Hellenne Vermillion works both in clay and silk dye painting. Born and growing up in Japan, the Japanese culture taught her that there is “spirit” in all living and non-living things due to the influences of Shinto - a non-religious belief system. Together with this idea, the masks of the traditional Japanese Noh drama which hauntingly project the spirit of a character being portrayed, led her to be interested in creating “spirit” masks. Her love of working with wet clay led her to create “generic” clay masks which she fires to harden and then glues painted silk to the surface. Painted silks add color and movement to the clay base, which are then further embellished with more painted silk in three dimensional design, various threads, felted wool and other items.

My passion as a silk painter and calligrapher is reflected in my work. As a teacher I love to play, love details, and love to demonstrate the art of silk painting on my one-of-a-kind paintings. www.jillssingularsilks.com

My passion as a silk painter and calligrapher is reflected in my work. As a teacher I love to play, love details, and love to demonstrate the art of silk painting on my one-of-a-kind paintings. www.jillssingularsilks.com

Silk is a living, breathing fiber that reflects light and has an inner radiance that brings forth the beauty of the wearer. Painting on silk is like flying in beautiful skies . . . the dyes move and flow magically on stretched white silk. The size of the frame is determined by the garment, scarf or accessory that is being created. Sumi-e brushes, French dye, and resists of all kinds are the vehicles for creating one-of-a kind fabrics. Manipulating these dyes with a variety of techniques —gutta resists (water-based and solvent), faux batik using soy wax, watercolor, salt, and alcohol techniques, as well as deconstructed silk screen printing—assist me in creating beautiful and unique textures and designs that can move from the abstract to the realistic. The silk fabric, once dried, is then professionally steamed and washed to render the fabric washable and colorfast. I then cut the fabric, hand-sew and embellish it utilizing all the many fiber techniques from my past to develop garments and accessories that are unique and a joy to wear and display. Creating these individual works of art allows me to share this joy of creation with others. Every piece is an expression of the beauty that is seen all around me in nature and the inner world of spirit. Capturing the light and color of our world and then creating art to wear has become a pathway to my Soul.

Joyce has been painting for over 50 years or more. Her media is oil, acrylic, watercolor and silk with dyes. She was introduced to silk painting when it came to the US about 35 years ago and has a passion painting the French dyes on silk. She designs silk fabric for home use as well as clothing. Many of her works are fine art and are shown in galleries over the US. She is past president of the Silk Painters International and was co-chair of the biannual festival in October 2016. She is involved with the International Silk Organization. She was invited to be will be a guest artist and participate in the International Art Show in Doha, Qatar but her trip was canceled because of COVID-19 19 She has opened “Joyce Estes Gallery” in the High Cotton Building on Water St. in Apalachicola Fl. The Gallery will feature only her art. She has also ventured out with her silk designs that are made in to wearable and decorative art. Joyce has designed the prayer garden and liturgical art for United Methodist Florida Annual Conference for 20 years or more. In 2012 and 2016 she was the Artistic Designer for the Prayer Garden for General (international) Conference. She designs liturgical Banners and ministry stoles in silk for the liturgical year. Joyce is a Seascape and landscape painter in oils and water colors. Loves nature and she works with organizations that are protecting our environment for future generations. Nature is the art of God, my prayer, let me do it justice.

Joyce has been painting for over 50 years or more. Her media is oil, acrylic, watercolor and silk with dyes. She was introduced to silk painting when it came to the US about 35 years ago and has a passion painting the French dyes on silk. She designs silk fabric for home use as well as clothing. Many of her works are fine art and are shown in galleries over the US. She is past president of the Silk Painters International and was co-chair of the biannual festival in October 2016. She is involved with the International Silk Organization. She was invited to be will be a guest artist and participate in the International Art Show in Doha, Qatar but her trip was canceled because of COVID-19 19 She has opened “Joyce Estes Gallery” in the High Cotton Building on Water St. in Apalachicola Fl. The Gallery will feature only her art. She has also ventured out with her silk designs that are made in to wearable and decorative art. Joyce has designed the prayer garden and liturgical art for United Methodist Florida Annual Conference for 20 years or more. In 2012 and 2016 she was the Artistic Designer for the Prayer Garden for General (international) Conference. She designs liturgical Banners and ministry stoles in silk for the liturgical year. Joyce is a Seascape and landscape painter in oils and water colors. Loves nature and she works with organizations that are protecting our environment for future generations. Nature is the art of God, my prayer, let me do it justice.

Joyce has been painting for over 50 years or more. Her media is oil, acrylic, watercolor and silk with dyes. She was introduced to silk painting when it came to the US about 35 years ago and has a passion painting the French dyes on silk. She designs silk fabric for home use as well as clothing. Many of her works are fine art and are shown in galleries over the US. She is past president of the Silk Painters International and was co-chair of the biannual festival in October 2016. She is involved with the International Silk Organization. She was invited to be will be a guest artist and participate in the International Art Show in Doha, Qatar but her trip was canceled because of COVID-19 19 She has opened “Joyce Estes Gallery” in the High Cotton Building on Water St. in Apalachicola Fl. The Gallery will feature only her art. She has also ventured out with her silk designs that are made in to wearable and decorative art. Joyce has designed the prayer garden and liturgical art for United Methodist Florida Annual Conference for 20 years or more. In 2012 and 2016 she was the Artistic Designer for the Prayer Garden for General (international) Conference. She designs liturgical Banners and ministry stoles in silk for the liturgical year. Joyce is a Seascape and landscape painter in oils and water colors. Loves nature and she works with organizations that are protecting our environment for future generations. Nature is the art of God, my prayer, let me do it justice.

I love silk,dyes, and challenges.

Sixteen years ago I began to explore the diverse effects of silk painting and found a strong connection with the fluid movement and brilliant colors of the dye. Using a medium-weight silk, silk dyes and resist, I layer color to create form and texture, counting missteps as design elements that are sometimes more beautiful and interesting than the original concept. My silks represent the ebb and flow of life, a mixture of abstraction and reality. A reflection of my particular experiences. Fueled by nature, within the breadth of colors, textures, and organic form I find my vitality to create. I am interested in design, arranging shapes and colors while exploring the diversity of forms and structures. I find that silk painting is the best medium to do that.

Sixteen years ago I began to explore the diverse effects of silk painting and found a strong connection with the fluid movement and brilliant colors of the dye. Using a medium-weight silk, silk dyes and resist, I layer color to create form and texture, counting missteps as design elements that are sometimes more beautiful and interesting than the original concept. My silks represent the ebb and flow of life, a mixture of abstraction and reality. A reflection of my particular experiences. Fueled by nature, within the breadth of colors, textures, and organic form I find my vitality to create. I am interested in design, arranging shapes and colors while exploring the diversity of forms and structures. I find that silk painting is the best medium to do that.

I use luminous steam set dyes to create expressionistic abstract paintings and impressionistic floral Images in a soy wax layering batik technique.

I use luminous steam set dyes to create expressionistic abstract paintings and impressionistic floral Images in a soy wax layering batik technique.

I have been an artist for five decades, and I found silk painting around 1975. I specialize in silk partly because it’s an unusual medium and often my work is the only silk hanging in a competitive exhibit. My work has evolved along these lines of symmetry, which is compatible with nature and the way she designs living things, and the way I design using the center fold for many of my ideas, including the Super Caladia and the In It Together: Owl. My quilt entry evolved from a silk painting I kept until an idea gelled. I tried it with many “frame” fabrics and chose this ikat scrap for its harmony with the painting. Here’s how I approach my artwork: Sometimes working on one piece gives me ideas for the next. Sometimes an exhibit deadline motivates. I may have a theme (Irises, Butterflies). I have garden catalogs etc. for reference and sketchbooks filled with ideas. For a new large hanging I may gather flowers, do a sketch, then an enlarged concept, then full size clear marker drawing, often only one side, if it’s mirror-image

I have been an artist for five decades, and I found silk painting around 1975. I specialize in silk partly because it’s an unusual medium and often my work is the only silk hanging in a competitive exhibit. My work has evolved along these lines of symmetry, which is compatible with nature and the way she designs living things, and the way I design using the center fold for many of my ideas, including the Super Caladia and the In It Together: Owl. My quilt entry evolved from a silk painting I kept until an idea gelled. I tried it with many “frame” fabrics and chose this ikat scrap for its harmony with the painting. Here’s how I approach my artwork: Sometimes working on one piece gives me ideas for the next. Sometimes an exhibit deadline motivates. I may have a theme (Irises, Butterflies). I have garden catalogs etc. for reference and sketchbooks filled with ideas. For a new large hanging I may gather flowers, do a sketch, then an enlarged concept, then full size clear marker drawing, often only one side, if it’s mirror-image

I have been an artist for five decades, and I found silk painting around 1975. I specialize in silk partly because it’s an unusual medium and often my work is the only silk hanging in a competitive exhibit. My work has evolved along these lines of symmetry, which is compatible with nature and the way she designs living things, and the way I design using the center fold for many of my ideas, including the Super Caladia and the In It Together: Owl. My quilt entry evolved from a silk painting I kept until an idea gelled. I tried it with many “frame” fabrics and chose this ikat scrap for its harmony with the painting. Here’s how I approach my artwork: Sometimes working on one piece gives me ideas for the next. Sometimes an exhibit deadline motivates. I may have a theme (Irises, Butterflies). I have garden catalogs etc. for reference and sketchbooks filled with ideas. For a new large hanging I may gather flowers, do a sketch, then an enlarged concept, then full size clear marker drawing, often only one side, if it’s mirror-image

Silk art with the touch of magic

I love to see the world and express myself with an artist’s eye. Color is my delight! Wonder of the beauty and vast diversity of this world is my joy and motivation. I strive to express those qualities in my watercolor and silk paintings. The purpose of my art is to share my amazement and the beauty I see everyday.

I love to see the world and express myself with an artist’s eye. Color is my delight! Wonder of the beauty and vast diversity of this world is my joy and motivation. I strive to express those qualities in my watercolor and silk paintings. The purpose of my art is to share my amazement and the beauty I see everyday.

Mitzi Ash Artist Statement I grew up on a small island in the Chesapeake Bay surrounded by blue waters, flat landscapes, sea breezes and geese migrating overhead. Idyllic for a childhood and rich with inspiration but the tides said, “Time to go.” So the unknown artist left and began to wander. Fifteen years later, I wandered into the art department at a community college where I worked as a counselor. Black and white photography became my art until color rushed into my life the day gorgeous dyes flowed like water onto silk. I take pristine white silk and stretch it tautly on a frame. Using special dyes, I paint on the silk with a brush. Dyes flow and move like water. Other products are used to contain and enhance the painting. The silk is then steamed to set the dyes. It is washed and ironed before it is ready to frame. Silk painting is a multi-step process that can result in a vibrant, colorfast, beautiful piece of art. From the solitary beauty of my childhood, through the love of my family, with the hearts of the students I counseled, on to the compositions found through the camera’s eye, I continue to look for meaning in my artwork. It is the curve of a line, the juxtaposition of color against color, and the contrast of simplicity and complexity that draws me back again and again to the silk.

Creations of God inspire me to study them and ignite my emotions to express them in the form of my art. The delicate petals and shapes of flowers, the beauty and variety in human emotions and expressions. Silk,oils,watercolours,charcoals are different mediums in which I love working depending on the effect I want to have. The sheen of silk and the way the dye flows on it has a mesmerising effect on me. My aim is to make people aware and preserve the beauty surrounding them.

Creations of God inspire me to study them and ignite my emotions to express them in the form of my art. The delicate petals and shapes of flowers, the beauty and variety in human emotions and expressions. Silk,oils,watercolours,charcoals are different mediums in which I love working depending on the effect I want to have. The sheen of silk and the way the dye flows on it has a mesmerising effect on me. My aim is to make people aware and preserve the beauty surrounding them.

During the pandemic eleven artist participated via zoom... each painted a section and were given the color palette to match and told to use gingko leaves and ombre design.  It was a group design effort that developed over several months.   After everyone submitted their section the final overall design was coordinated by three of our artists who finally met in person and then returned the garment to Susan Grant, who had created the pattern, and she did the final sewing.

We used silk jacquard with Crepe di Chine trim using French dyes both Tinfix and Dupont. Luminere was used to enhance the leaves, and some acrylic paints were used with the  branches and leaf stencils.

In my paintings, I am fascinated by the blending of certain colors that come to life when applying ink on to silks. This new medium has brought out my creative spontaneity and an increased awareness of bringing color to life in my art.

In my paintings, I am fascinated by the blending of certain colors that come to life when applying ink on to silks. This new medium has brought out my creative spontaneity and an increased awareness of bringing color to life in my art.

While I appreciate the joys and challenges of painting on silk with line resists, my true passion is using the dyes in a free form manner. My art degree is in painting, so I have tried to use those techniques and sensibilities to silk as my “canvas” or substrate. Many times I use a mixture of salt water as an overall resist to slow down the flow of the dyes to create my basic design, then carefully employing different strengths of dyes I build my design. I generally steam my works at least once before I apply the final washes of dyes and steaming for a final time. Lately, I have found that the slightest touches of alcohol pens at the very end of the painting can pull some loose ends together

Color - light - the responsive nature of beautiful fabric - the exploration of creative possibilities: all this and more for the sole purpose of discovering the dramatic beauty and unpredictability of painting on silk.

I knew immediately that I would become a silk painter after my second lesson at Ten Pound Studio in Gloucester, MA .I grabbed the opportunity to be in a studio with other eager students who were also serious about their painting techniques. I am inspired by modern art which is why I did the group of three silk collages entitled reflections. Since I enjoy beading on fabric I decided to embellish two of my entries with seed need from Japan. The combination of the silk and threads seems to work.

While I was in graduate school, I took my baby with me to class and kept him in a carrier near me through the lectures and art labs. I frequently used him as a subject for my practice drawings and sketches. In the meantime, my mother pursued her passion for collecting Russian icons with a special emphasis on mother and child subjects. My son is now grown with children of his own and my mother has died. During my recent pandemic isolation, my textile designs somehow combined those experiences and I created this work.

It is all about COLOR. I finally found a medium that help me to achieve the bright color not seen in nature or unseen in nature. Love the process of drawing accurately and paint brightly. Silk and dyes let me achieve this.

It is all about COLOR. I finally found a medium that help me to achieve the bright color not seen in nature or unseen in nature. Love the process of drawing accurately and paint brightly. Silk and dyes let me achieve this.

being creative has always been a part of my life. Since discovering silkpainting in 2014, I find each day brings a new idea, a new technique and new adventures to my silk painting journey.