Silk painting and other art

I'm working on my first really large-scale project, a banner to hang in the International Balloon Museum in Albuquerque this fall. It's part of a combined fundraiser for the Museum and for Silk Painters International. We submitted sample work last winter, and 30 of us were given the silk to make the banners, which will be auctioned off during the annual Balloon Fiesta in October.

I was much more careful than I usually am about planning composition, and took some books out the library to look at balloons, how they work, how they're decorated. I really love the 18th- and 19th-century ones with all their tassels and gilt gingerbread, which is what I used for the sample I made, but thought that for a big project, less detail and more graphic impact would be called for. I did some drawings and painted a couple sample scarves, to try out shapes, perspective, colors, and composition. I ended up with a large chiffon scarf and a narrower crêpe version. (These are both listed in my shop at Etsy.)

Using elements from both sample paintings, I took the things I liked best about each and drew a to-scale mock-up, or cartoon.

I took my cartoon to a local copy shop and had it blown up 200% and 400%.

Unfortunately, the dimensions of the silk piece I'd been sent were not the same as the size I'd planned for, but it was no problem to cut my cartoon into pieces to arrange the composition. I was able to take some pieces from the 200% enlargement and others from the 400% enlargement and piece them together (thereby justifying the fortune I spent having the enlargements made. Lesson here: always ask the cost-per-square-foot of enlargements before ordering!).

Once I had the layout I wanted and got the proportions right, I taped the cartoon to my light table and then taped the silk over the cartoon. I made sure to grab the drafters' tape rather than the stickier masking tape so it's easier to remove the tape from the fabric.

I traced the lines from my cartoon to the silk using clear, water-based gutta.

I splurged on a wonderful frame about 15 years ago, but it only stretches to 74" long. I've done larger projects in the past by stretching half at a time and making sure to 1. divide the composition so that there's a hard resist line to mask the break, and 2. being sure to hold back enough of each color to complete the project.

This is the biggest project I've ever worked on and it seemed essential to be able to see the whole of it. I wrasted up some spare parts and moved things around to give the frame the support necessary to keep it from sliding off the table.

I've always had busy hands and a curious mind and have been making art since I was a child. I've traveled and moved quite a bit and have studied fashion, fine art, art history, and crafts wherever I've lived.
My work takes form in mixed media collages and silk painting. I'm always seeking to wed a personal iconography with themes from ancient art history.