Silk Painting Classes--a Heavenly Week

     Earlier this month, I took a whole week of silk painting instruction with Donna Kassab at the John C. Campbell Folk School near Murphy, North Carolina (yes, Rosemary guessed the location in her response to the previous post). It was glorious! Given my love of fabrics and color, silk painting is an art form that has intrigued me for some time. So it was a thrill to have an excellent instructor for a week of classes at this top-notch "art camp for grown-ups". Also a treat: my long-suffering husband, Mark, consented to go along and took a beginners class in throwing pots on a pottery wheel.
     We painted on 22" square plain white silk scarves and learned several different techniques for manipulating the dyes and creating designs. The photos here show my husband's favorite scarf--the purple, blue, and turquoise impression of the ocean--and the first scarf I made in the class--bright red-orange hibiscus (or whatever flower they turned out to be) with a soft sea green background. In a wonderful way, the dyes diffuse into the silk, only partially under the painter's control. For some designs, we used a resist called gutta to outline areas, which prevents the dye from crossing the line of gutta. Both of these scarves employed gutta in their creation, though in somewhat different ways. Even with gutta, results can be a delightful surprise; other results, of course, are less delightful, but take the piece in new directions if the painter remains open and flexible. As Donna often reminded us, "There are no mistakes in silk painting--only design changes." 

     Among the 12 or 13 varied classes offered during our week at the Folk School (from blacksmithing to pottery to quilting to mountain-style fiddle playing), our silk painting teacher and my husband's pottery teacher were two of just three instructors who were chosen to give open demonstrations during free time. The group photo shows our teacher, Donna Kassab, explaining the process of painting a silk scarf. Her husband, Magdi (in the cap), who helped Donna and our class members every step of the way, and my husband (in the charcoal grey fleece) are among those watching the demonstration. Note the frame Magdi made, on which the silk scarf is stretched and elevated for the painting process; the above photos of my scarves were taken while the pieces were still on the frame to dry. Once the scarves are dry, the dyes must be permanently set by a steaming process (a separate, chemical process removes the gutta, when used). For Donna's demonstration, all of the silk painting students had hung the pieces we had made to that point around the room, as you can see in the photo of a bulletin board.


     In future posts, I will tell you more about the equipment, dyes, and processes we learned and show you more of the scarves we made. There is also much more to tell you about the John C. Campbell Folk School.

Question of the day:  Let's dream a little: If you had the time, resources, and energy to go anywhere for a creative or other learning adventure, what would you do?

Creations by Various Folk School Students, Quilts, Scarves, Wooden Trunks, and More--All Hand Crafted

     When we took a week of classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina, Mark in clay pots thrown on a pottery wheel, me in hand-painting silk scarves, we joined dozens of others in about 12 different classes. At the end of our time there, we all gathered for a show of the many creations produced by students during the week. The entertainment at the gathering included country and folk classics played by a string group from the fiddling class that also met all that week. 

     Seeing the results of the excellent teaching and focused student efforts was amazing and inspirational. A commenter on this blog to one of my previous silk painting posts (thank you, Rosemary) suggested that I must have been Donna Kassab's "star pupil". Not so! (although I appreciate the compliment) All the students' scarves were lovely. One of the delights of working in a small class with other creative people is observing their varied approaches to using the medium. The first three photos show the hand-painted silk scarves exhibited by our class members at that end-of-the-week show. Sadly, two women had to leave early, and their gorgeous scarves were not available for the show. Still, I think you will get a sense of the differing original designs, the use of color in varied ways--and, hopefully, get a taste of how stimulating it is to learn and create with others at this excellent "art camp for adults".

     The group that made wooden trunks had begun the weekend before, choosing the type of lumber each would use and beginning the rough assembly. Then, they alternated between the wood shop and the blacksmith shop completing the trunks and applying layer after layer of finish as well as hand-forging the hinges and clasps. You see one trunk made by the husband of a silk painter--he used red oak, and she painted a red oak themed scarf to display with it. 

     For the rest, you see lovely quilts displayed behind the trunks (each made in one week!), wood turning products, hand-made glass beads, and the gathering for our final ceremonies and celebration. Click on any photo to see it larger. Thank you for viewing this post; I have loved reliving a super time. For earlier posts about our silk painting class click here.

 
 









Question of the day: What sort of class would you take, given the chance?

Around the World Blog Hop Entry--My Creative Process

   

Outside a back yard at Jacksonville Beach, FL

I was invited to join an Around the World Blog Hop (google that and be amazed!) by fellow artist Mary Paquet, whose work and blog I always enjoy and admire. Please visit Mary Paquet's blog to see for yourselves and for her Blog Hop entry on December 1. In turn, I have invited Jo Castillo, a delightful, talented artist and prolific blogger to post on Monday, December 15. All the past blog hop entries I have visited are fascinating as a variety of artists each answer four questions about their work and creative process.

     The invitation is welcome both because 1) I am a relatively new artist and 2) my blog is a mix of posts about both acrylic landscape painting and silk scarf painting AND lots of other aspects of creative living, including travel, cooking, exploring coastal North Florida, and more. I am honored that more established artists with more art-focused blogs to include mine. Thank you, Mary Paquet. My thoughts on the questions appear below (and, to spare you a truly endless post this time, will continue in a second post in a few days). Here and there a link will take interested readers to related posts on this blog. 

1) What am I working on? After a break from art due to travel, time with family and, well, the rest of life, I have several projects going now:

Matanzas River Bend

• finishing touches on a gift for a friend--a 12" x 6" piece picturing a Matanzas River scene, just off the Atlantic Ocean. My friend has always loved the Matanzas Inlet area, near St. Augustine, Florida.
• deciding what's next on a half-finished silk scarf with a purple iris motif; it needs more tonal contrast and/or some other revision (not pictured--stay tuned).
• designing and making a scarf for a friend who wants it as a Christmas gift for someone special to her. She has a color scheme idea, and is trusting me for the rest. How scary is that?



A favorite scarf, painted in March

• Finally, something new for me, planning a couple of paintings based on photos and memories of a recent time in Tuscany. Normally, I interpret scenes here in coastal North Florida because I know this area in depth. Can I capture the essence of a place only visited? Perhaps not, but I am hoping to convey my own impressions and appreciation of its beauty.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? Most bloggers, including me, regard this question as a stumper--hard to answer for oneself. Even some relative strangers have said that once they see a landscape I've painted, they recognize others as being my style, so the work does have distinctive elements. However, defining those elements is difficult. I'll mention a few common threads in most of the landscapes. Making scarves is simply too new for me to have developed a personal style; "experimenting" is the current mode in silk painting. (See posts on the week-long "art camp" silk painting class I enjoyed).  My landscape paintings usually include:

Another silk scarf favorite

• A realistic style--although I "edit" actual scenes for good composition; they are far from photographic.
• Many portray out-of-the way places that most people would pass without noticing. Prowling back roads, urban pocket parks, and nature preserves with my camera, I find quiet charm and beauty--painting ideas abound.
• Water appears in a fair number of works. Here in Jacksonville, Florida, we enjoy the Atlantic Ocean (from a surprising variety of beaches), the mighty St. Johns River and a number of other rivers, quirky creeks (some of which would be called rivers in other regions--they are wide!), still ponds, and our bewitching, ever-changing salt marshes. I love both being near natural bodies of water and the challenge of painting water.



Marsh in Fort Caroline Preserve

• Finally, the works reflect an effort to establish a clear focal point and visual path for the viewer.

Clear focal point, "Summer Reflections" 

3) Why do I create what I do?

4) How does my creating process work?

This post is long enough, so--hoping the blog hop police won't mind--I will post again in a few days with consideration of the last two questions.

   Don't forget to visit the delightful blog of fine artist Jo Castillo, who has agreed to be "tagged" as the next Monday blogger in this creative chain. Don't miss her post on December 15! 

Again, I am truly thankful to Mary Paquet for providing this opportunity. Given the many incredible blogs I have discovered following the chain from one creator to another, it took real self-discipline to stop browsing and post on time :).

Question of the Day: What are some delightful discoveries of people/ideas/visuals/blogs you have encountered recently as you browse the web?    

Ocean-Inspired Aqua, Blue, and Purple Hand-painted Silk Scarf

An 11" x 60" one-of-a-kind, hand-painted silk scarf

     This ocean-inspired aqua, blue, and purple hand-painted silk scarf, 11" x 60", was a delight to paint. I used French-
style silk dyes and began with diluted blue and aqua to paint the large middle area in pale shades, blending well. Just as a clear sky shades slightly from a truer blue appearance overhead to a more aqua look nearer the horizon, I used blue in the very center and shaded to aqua further from center. 

     Of course, I was not trying to make a realistic ocean and sky picture, but hoped to suggest them. In the second stage, I used stronger (much less diluted) hues and began to work on the very ends. The mottled areas result from liberal doses of kosher salt--salt draws wet dye up to create random jagged patterns. What is the area meant to represent? you may ask. I had some thoughts, but mostly wanted some variety in the look of the ends of the scarf. People who have seen it each have their own ideas: currents deep down, the ocean bottom, coral, the movement of sea creatures. Take your pick; it's fun to imagine what shape and texture could represent.

Seen from another angle 

     Working up from the ends, I laid in wavy strips of various shades of blue, aqua, and purple, along with some deep rose. I had some of these shades premixed and ready; others resulted from the colors overlapping and mixing on their own or from adding subsequent tones over the first layer of color. 

     When I approached the "sky" area, I used gutta as a resist (more information here) to draw wiggly outlines for a suggestion of currents and waves (click on any photo to enlarge). Once the gutta had dried, I could continue to create undulating watery tones--using gradually lighted versions of the colors. Since French silk dyes are transparent up to seven layers of color, I could add and modify any of the hues until the result felt right.

The earlier silk scarf, made in my class

     When I originally learned the art of silk painting from Donna Kassab at the John C. Campbell Folk School (see posts about the class here), one of my first silk scarf creations (and still a favorite) was a 22" square ocean-inspired piece. That design sparked the long scarf shown in this post. The square piece looks odd in the photo because it had just come off the stretcher on which we paint on silks (it doesn't actually have a scalloped hem). My favorite aspects of French-style silk painting are the intense colors and the element of unpredictability in the process. Every creation feels like a discovery.

Question of the day: What colors and color combinations are your favorites?

Blog Hop, Part II--My Creative Process

A great blue heron, seen at  Jacksonville's Hanna Park

Somewhere in Michigan (a scene from memories)

     Thanks again to Mary Paquet for the invitation to contribute to the blog hop project by responding to four questions. I continue here with the two last questions (see my previous post for Part I). And don't miss Jo Castillo's post on Monday, Dec. 15; I "tagged" her to be next in the blog hop and know that you will enjoy her lively creative sense and fine art works.

3) Why do I create what I do?

     I have always enjoyed sewing, knitting, and crocheting, but did not believe I had any talent for the visual arts I so admired. My love for color and for the beauty of the natural world kept tugging me toward giving landscape work a try.

Castaway Preserve Cedar

Castaway Preserve Palms

     Finally, about 11 years ago, I signed up for a week-long class in acrylic painting at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina--expecting to enjoy playing with color and making creative messes, then to toss them and return home renewed and relaxed. Well, with an excellent teacher and time to practice and learn, I painted pieces that I really liked. No tossing occurred, and I was hooked! Now, with more workshops and lots more practice behind me, some pieces even sell. More importantly, I find continued delight in creating acrylic landscapes and learning more all the time. Another Folk School class this year started me in silk painting as well--a fluid, often unpredictable medium that gives me additional pleasure. Creating art is a whole new world for me and a rewarding pursuit in semi-retirement.

Jacksonville Beach

Jacksonville Beach

4) How does my creative process work?

     While considering this question, I used the little search box at the top of my blog and entered "painting process". Oh, my--I have written many posts that include discussion of the creative process in general and of the particular processes involved in individual paintings or silk scarves.

An early work--A favorite retreat near Warwick, NY

Silk scarf (using resist)

Silk scarf (natural blending--no resist)

     So, what are the common threads in varying processes for individual pieces? For processes in making the silk scarves, please see recent posts on that topic.
     
     Nearly all landscape paintings begin with a photo or a cluster of reference photos. Since I am endlessly fascinated with coastal North Florida scenes and want to convey the beauty and serenity I find in exploring out-of-the-way places in this area, I study angles of light, color (how to capture the incredible range of greens?!), and take notes to accompany the photos I take from various angles and distances.

     In the studio, the next considerations are composition (including tonal balance--the lights and darks) and color palette. In our area, good composition almost always involves leaving out some of the lush growth and sometimes other elements. Sketching--very roughly--a few possible versions of a scene, sometimes moving the point of view or focal point, helps me decide on a final version. Here are some previous posts that discuss composition.

     Choosing a limited number of colors helps both in unifying a painting and still gives an incredible range of possible hues. I don't try to match the actual scene so much as try to capture a feeling while staying in a realistic color range. Sometimes I go for low contrast and cool serenity, sometimes warmer, lively vistas. Again, here are some previous posts with more about color and palette for interested readers.

      Revision is the other most crucial piece of my process. The beauty of acrylics (especially for a learner like me) is that they dry quickly and cover well. I can paint over an area that does not please me, take out a superfluous bush, or whatever. Sometimes before a major change, I try it out by cutting a shape out of construction paper that approximates the change, tape it to the canvas, and squint to judge the effect on the composition.

     When wrestling with a piece that is not cooperating, it helps to remind myself that any work is a valuable learning experience (taking myself too seriously is fatal). At times, I put a painting away for a time and work on something else. A fresh look later on often yields a solution.

Question of the day: Do you enjoy hearing about the creative process or watching artists work? Or would you rather simply experience the art for yourself with no background or explanation given?

More Hand-Painted Silk Scarves

     I made the first two hand-painted, one-of-a-kind silk scarves shown in this post at the week-long "art camp for grown-ups" class I mentioned in a previous post. The Asian-influenced design in apricot and sage green was a learning experience on several levels. One of my first attempts to draw a design using resist to prevent the dyes from running together, it also was a hopeful stab at mixing colors to match outfits without having them in the room with me for comparison. Both the main colors are some favorites in my wardrobe, and I was thrilled when the results looked perfect with all the outfits I had in mind.

     The nighttime scene with moon and owl also arose from a desire to practice using resist to "draw" on white silk, then to paint inside those lines, and finally to fill in a freer style background. Two techniques produce the sky in the scene: some of the areas allow the colors to run together on their own, which produces uneven--sometimes jagged--lines while other areas used a quick rubbing technique Donna Kassab taught in the class to achieve blended tones (click on this, or any, photo to see more detail). The "stars" are simply dots of resist on the white silk before painting.

     The fuchsia and orange scarf began as a disaster. In the class, the result of painting the background waves of color was (in my view) garish. Believe it or not, the colors are considerably toned down now. Although some classmates liked the original, I decided to remove some of the dye right away and washed out the color 3 or 4 times. After the scarf dried, I took it home, uncertain how to finish it. Once I had all my equipment and supplies collected at home, I decided to use resist to draw sort of day lily type flowers in the corners and painted them with coordinating colors. I also restored some of the orange tones in the background. Sorry I don't have a better photo; I gave a couple of scarves away to relatives on a recent vacation, and this one was snapped up before it had posed properly. You see it here on the stretcher frame my long-suffering husband helped me make. The silks must be suspended and stretched for the painting and drying processes.



     Finally, the green/purple/yellow scarf, another version of my "Colorburst" design, is one of two I made for a friend who wanted to purchase a green toned scarf for a gift. She wanted some greens in the Colorburst design, but was somewhat vague on details, so I made two for her to consider. I don't have a good photo of the one she chose, but this is the other--the first scarf made entirely on my own at home. What fun all these projects have been!

Question of the day: Can you tell that my love of color is a key factor in my enjoyment of both silk and landscape painting? How does color bring joy in your life?

Two Hand-painted Silk Scarves

     I have completed two more hand-painted silk scarves, each 22" square, one in shades of turquoise, blue, and purple and the other deep rose with purple and pearl white. Each has been a learning experience, especially the rose colored scarf. Since I have not made many scarves (other scarf posts here). since my class last year, it is still a trial and error process. But, no complaints--I enjoy both what I learn from the errors and the challenge of making things work anyway.

     The blue blend scarf went fairly quickly (not counting the steam setting of the dyes and the chemical removal of the lines of resist). I blended blue and green to a pleasing shade and quickly covered the entire scarf using a wide foam brush--intentionally varying the shading. Once that dried, I used gutta resist to block off a wavy border and a corner feature of tear-drop shapes. The free-form border blend of colors came next (after the gutta had completely dried) followed by filling in the tear drops. Going over some of the areas again deepened the color--or using a different shade, changed the color subtly. Sorry there is no photo of the entire scarf--am in a rush, and it is too wrinkled to look decent laid out flat (how lazy is that?).

     I'll spare you the tortured tale of trial and error on the rose scarf, but again, I started by painting the entire scarf--this time in a rose color blend, both to serve as a background and to ensure that the later gutta outlining would not be stark white. Since it turned out darker than desired, I "lifted" some color with a wide brush filled with water. Then: let it dry, gutta outlines for the leaves and iris flowers, let it dry, paint layers of purple, and several different green shades in the leaves and flowers, and make a narrow purple border. Finally, I made the lily of the valley flowers with Jacquard Luminere pearlescent fabric paint (which comes in small bottles and can be squeezed directly onto fabric from the bottle tip). Keeping a toothpick in the other hand, I quickly pulled the paint up twice each time I made a flower "drop" to form the little pointed petals (as always, click on any photo to enlarge it and see more detail). The alcohol spray spots and little random whats-its on the scarf were attempts to camouflage drops of dye and other oopsies. I also wanted the variation in texture of the alcohol spotting. Overall, not bad. The color is so lovely, it's hard to hate the result.

Question of the day: What would we do without color?