Jim Cowles, iron artist, does finely crafted forged iron work ranging from large homestead gates to small practical kitchen items like hooks, cabinet handles and knives. One of his specialties is delicately crafted roses.
In the August show at the Mateel Cooperative Arts Gallery he will surprise us with a new sculpture.
What is silk painting?
By Margriet Seinen
People often confuse silk painting with silk screening or batik. Silk screening is a printing technique where a squeegee pushes ink through a screen that has certain areas blocked out. These screens used to be made from silk but now most commonly are made from polyester.
Batik is a process which uses wax as a resist on various fabrics including silk which are immersed in successive layers in a dye bath.
When I paint on silk I also use resist and dye. The resist is a latex mixture applied like a pencil line with a metal tipped squeeze bottle. The function of resist is to “resist” or stop the flow of dye. I then stretch the silk on a frame and paint with watercolor brushes.
An advantage of silk painting is the intense range of color available. Instead of just hugging the surface, the silk fibers are actually dyed all the way through, marrying the luminous quality of silk to the brilliance of the dye.
Silk painting, predating oil painting by many centuries, began about 400 BC in China
When hung away from bright light the longevity of silk paintings is equal to or better than watercolor and pastel. Silk itself resists mold much better than paper.
photo captions:
1. Rose hanging by Jim Cowles
2. Gate by Jim Cowles
3. Margriet Seinen paints on silk
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