Shades of Van Gogh's Irises

Monday was the Potomac Fiberarts Gallery near monthly jury day. SAll work leaves the gallery and an entirely new body of work enters. Each piece is individually juried for acceptance on the basis of artistic quality and technique. This month our theme is Van Gogh's Irises. While not all work needs to be theme related, it is encouraged. 

First,Van Gogh's iris painting:

Three works were singled out as especially outstanding.
Gretchen Klimoski"s hand stitched and beaded silk jacket "Iris in a Clifton Garden":

 Joan Hutten's "Irises", hand dyed felted scarf.

 And Roz Houseknecht's "Purple Iris", nuno felted wool and silk scarf.

Many more iris theme items include: Silk scarves by Lubna Zahid (hand painted) and Joanne Bast (stitched)

 Beaded Necklace by Zoya Gutina

Hand painted scarf by Anna Yakubovskaya

Pieced and stitched Tote bag by Beverly Baker

Nuno felted silk Bolero "Spring" by Masha Kosmos

 Wool Felted neckpiece by Masha Kosmos

Cotton Necklace by Kathleen Thompson
                                                                                                      
Iris colored Hand woven scarf by Janet Stollnitz

 Hand painted silk adhered to the back of a glass platter by Lubna Zahid

For the past 4-5 years, a spring theme has been a classic painting and it always stimulates the creativity of out members. Joanne

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.