More Color Choices

I asked several additional Gallery artists how they choose colors for their nonrepresentational work.  Here's what I learned.

Silk painter Clara Graves told me "When I create one of the woven pieces from my New Worlds series, I have no plan in mind at all. I simply go to my collection of painted silks and pull colors that appeal to me. This is usually quite a large and colorful pile of silk. As I go through them again and again, a particular color pattern within the fabrics attracts me and I begin working to find other pieces of silk that will work with that initial piece. Sometimes I want to subdue it a bit, as in the area of blue green blended with the violet in the piece below.

Clara Graves, Toward the Sun

"Not wanting the whole work to be too quiet, I then put together some more vibrant and complementary silks to play off against that original section of the piece."

Anne Sanderoff-Walker, a weaver and felter, says "Weaving is all about color. I find inspiration everywhere. I remember when I was a kid, blue and green were never seen together, but looking at a bluebird sky and the trees in leaf, it seems so obvious that green and blue should be used together and I do. Recently I’ve been going outside my color comfort zone and using reds, oranges and pinks together. Now that I’m comfortable with the “hot” colors, I need to look beyond my newest comfort zone for something new."

Anne often decides the colors in her woven work by her selection of yarns.  Sometimes she defers the decision on color by weaving a white garment, then dyeing it, as seen in the shawl below, which was dyed using a fold and clamp (shibori) technique.  She says that "This is my newest passion in use of color. Every time I dye I look forward to the surprise results."

Anne Sanderoff-Walker, shawl

Janet Barnard is a weaver, silk dyer, garment maker, and silk paper sculptor.  Her palette is distinctive.  She says that her color choices change with the day and whether she is weaving or dyeing because the colors interact very differently in these techniques. She continues that "I prefer darker palettes as opposed to pastel, and muted colors as opposed to  primary ones. Since I rarely use real images, I can play with color and be surprised with what I get."

Here are examples of two of Janet's recent dyed fabrics:

Janet Barnard, silkscreened cloth

Janet Barnard, silkscreened cloth

You can see examples of Janet's other work and other color choices  in our January blog post on Wondrous, Lustrous Silk. 

Wondrous, Lustrous Silk

A new show opened in our gallery on Monday.  The theme is Wondrous, Lustrous Silk.  The jurors always select three pieces to highlight.  One of those chosen was Janet Barnard's silk paper clutch purse.

Janet says, "I became acquainted with silk paper making when, in 2003, I attended a silk paper workshop at Creative Strands, taught by Robin Russo.  The process was simple and the resulting “paper” was more like heavy fabric, which I felt increased its uses over that of regular paper. 

"The process begins with silk top of noil, bombyx, or tussah, either natural or dyed. I dye my own top using the same method as silk fabric, thereby having access to an infinite number of shades.  The top is then pulled apart and layered on netting, first in one direction, then at a 90 degree angle. This gives the paper added strength and prevents sections from peeling away or splitting.  At this point, embellishments of any type may be added to the surface – string, glitter, leaves etc. A top layer of netting is added to keep everything in place. 

"I wet the top with a mixture of soapy water to break the surface tension, as the silk can be difficult to soak through. Using a paint brush, I saturate the silk with a mixture of Artist’s Medium and water, which binds the silk together.  I hang it to dry, peel off the netting, and it’s ready to go. I’ve used my paper to cover hand-made boxes, for jewelry, cards, sculptures, and now purses."

Here's a sculpture that Janet made using silk paper:

It includes cocoons as an embellishment. These are not dyed; this is their natural color.

Janet has also used silk paper for collages.  Here is an example, "Complete This Series."

Next week, we'll feature another artist who works in silk paper.

Juror’s Recognition #3

The third piece in this month’s show to get juror’s recognition is Janet Barnard’s wonderful top made from a kimono.

Here’s what Janet says about her process:

“Every so often, a Japanese cultural group has a fundraiser selling used kimonos, which is where I most recently have gotten my supply. When I am in the processing of reconstructing a kimono into another garment, I try to allow the painted artwork to remain the focal point. The paintings, by nature, are delicate and flowing, so the garment cannot be too heavy, nor have lots of seam lines to distract the eye.

“With a more sheer silk, the inside must look as finished as the outside so the lines of the garment aren’t compromised by unsightly seams. Since kimonos have no hardware keeping them closed, I try to minimize the number and types of closures I use. It often takes many hours of simply looking at the paintings before I actually come up with an idea. But they look beautiful just hanging in my studio.”