Spring Silk Painting

History of Silk Painting

Originating from China, silk painting (Chinese: sichouhua 丝绸画) is an art form with over 2000 years of history that involves applying colored pigment to silk cloth. Like its silk embroidery counterpart, silk painting preceded the invention of paper. Silk painting in China is believed to date back as far as the Warring States period (476-221 BC), reaching its height as an art form in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC to 25 AD).

Silk Art has always been associated with royalty and its exclusivity due to the labor intense nature it requires. From the actual farming of silkworms, the production of thread, cloth, brocade, dyes, fashion and fine art.

Legend has it, that circa 2,640 BC, the Chinese Empress Leizui, discovered silk when a cocoon dropped into her tea cup. She began to unravel the 900 meters of silk fiber and dreamed of weaving it into cloth. For thousands of years, silk remained available only to Chinese royalty and those honored by the court. In fact having illegal possession of any silk product, including silk moth eggs, was punishable by death.

Inspiration Artists

Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Minh

Materials:

Silk - We will be using pre-stretched silk hoops

Silk is created by silkworms - the bombyx mori moth. This moth is one of the earliest domesticated animals. It needs human intervention to survive because it cannot fly. Silk is animal protein similar to our own hair.
Silk is the strongest natural fiber. For its weight, it is stronger than steel. As a result, silk has been used as sails on boats, as parachutes, in hot air balloons, and as armor.
Silk is able to absorb up to thirty times its weight in water and is warmer than wool.
Silk has been with us for a long time. Records indicate that silk has been in production before 6803 BC.
Silk is archival. There are examples of still brightly colored silk found in China from the third and fourth century BC.
Silk was the painting support of choice long before canvas or paper was ever used.

Gutta - We will be using black gutta

As the history above suggests, silk painting has been with us for a long time. There was a resurgence of interest in silk painting in France in the early 19th century with the discovery of gutta.
Gutta is a rubbery resist that can be used to create boundary lines on a silk. The dyes that normally would flow through the silk are stopped at the boundary created by the gutta. This gives the artists control over positioning the dyes on the fabric allowing them to create images.

Dye - We will be using Jacquard Silk Dyes and Dye-na-flow Dyes

Jacquard Silk Dyes are true dyes, not thinned pigment. They will not stiffen silk or mask its natural luster. These intense, rich, translucent colors may be blended directly on fabric or intermixed separately to create an infinite range of colors.
Dilute with water for softer shades. ($4 for 2oz...so use wisely please!)

Objectives:

Students will create an artwork inspired by the theme "Spring"
Students will use the elements of line, shape, value and color as they plan and execute a design within a circle format
Students will work with the medium of silk painting
Students will learn and utilize fabric dying techniques including flowing and brushing fabric colors, mixing colors on the fabric, glazing (layering thinned colors on top one another) and special effects
Students will work with gutta and the idea of a "resist," by confining color and defining lines

Inspiration Artwork

Student Examples:

Project Steps

Planning-

1. In your sketchbook - list at least 10 things that come to mind when you think of the season "Spring"

Highly recommend: Close-up Floral or Nature

2. In your sketchbook - Choose your favorite idea and sketch it out in 2-3 thumbnails (remember we are working in a circle format!)...how would you express your idea with an interesting image? Make sure your design is:

visually interesting (think about your lines)
simple enough to do on silk
works well in the circular format

Turn in steps 1 & 2 for a GRADE

Some of these ideas are very "Spring"

Here is a Page full of Spring Flower Images with names of the flowers, so you can search for other images too

Reference Image(s) -

3. After choosing your favorite idea:

use the internet to find reference images you can use &/OR
take a photo of the still life flowers in the classroom
take a photo at home or outside of school

Turn in Step 3 for a GRADE

Draw your Design -

4. Trace a silk hoop onto a piece of watercolor paper or your mixed media sketchbook paper.

Then, while using your reference materials, draw out your "Spring" inspired design into your circle. (You will be tracing your work directly onto the silk, so make sure it is EXACTLY how you want it)

Then go over every line with a black sharpie so it is dark enough to see through the layer of silk and so you can see where it will be black in your color design.

Turn in Step 4 for a GRADE

Transfer & Add Gutta/Resist -

5. After you are done drawing your design, place your silk hoop (you only get one!) over your design and trace VERY SOFTLY over your design. You need to transfer any lines you will want to use Gutta on (the black resist).

6. You will then place your hoop on the edge of a book or something or hold up at an angle (or hold it up) ...you don't want the gutta to pool on the table and spread on the back side of your silk) and go over each line with the Gutta resist bottle.

Begin drawing your pattern with the Gutta. Gently squeeze the bottle until the resist begins to flow. Try moving as you would with a marker - steady and smooth. You want flowing, continuous lines.
Move steadily, but not so quickly that you leave gaps in your lines. All lines must be connected or the dye will bleed through the gaps in the resist line.

7. Once you've completed the design, carefully examine the lines. Be sure that the resist goes through the silk to the back and that all lines are connected, so that the silk dyes will not bleed into adjacent areas.

8. Allow the resist to dry completely before painting. (It will take at least 30 minutes to dry completely, so most will move to the next step the following day.

Start Video at 2:00 for applying Gutta

2:30 - 2:45 for applying Silk Ink

Start at 21:45 to see the artist apply Gutta and paint the ink

Plan out your colors -

9. Next you will need to plan out, generally, what colors you want and where. You will only receive ONE HOOP, so if you mess up, oh well. (The hoops are $3.50 each, if there are extra, you may buy a new one, but usually there aren't extras.)

Soooooo we are practicing on paper with watercolor FIRST

10. Using your drawn out plan and watercolors, practice how you want your silk hoop to look like. It will only be similar, not exact...dye on silk is a totally unique material, BUT watercolor is similar enough to help us "see" it.

Remember that your lines are all drawn in sharpie - the gutta may have come out thicker.

You will need to plan these requirements into your choices:

Mixing colors on the fabric to create new colors
Glazing (layering thinned colors on top one another) and special effects
At least 90% of the silk is dyed

Turn in 10 for a GRADE

Apply the Dye -

11. First dampen your brush with water then dip your brush gently into a color. Touch the brush to the fabric about 1/2 inch from the resist line. The dye will migrate the rest of the way. Paint all areas inside the gutta lines.

You can create areas of solid color and areas with multiple colors, allowing them to bleed and blend together.
For large areas, work quickly painting the color from corner to corner. Always work wet to wet to avoid lines (never go over a dry area). When painting a wet line or shapes over a dry area, a dark edge of color (a water line/stain) is created where the dye stops.
Lights and darks are created based on the amount of dye placed on the silk OR by diluting the dye with a little water. For pastels, the dyes can be mixed with water

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND -

Colors dry lighter
Multiple coats of dye will produce more vibrant or darker colors
Colors can be mixed on the fabric for interesting blending but the results are unpredictable.
Wet on wet will fully blend; wet onto dry will blend less and will leave a water-line or stain at the intersection.
You might want to raise the hoop a tiny bit to prevent the dyes puddling. A small piece of cardboard, or pencil placed under the rim to raise the hoop works.

Blending colors on the silk

Special Techniques

Glazing Method: Create “glazes” of color by diluting with water, painting an area, allowing it to dry, then painting over it again to build up varying color intensity and opacity. Mixing silk dye to obtain color beyond the range that is available in bottles is difficult to do, because the transparency of the color is not visible as it sits in a well on a palette. By "glazing" colors over one another directly on the silk, shades can be altered until the desired mix is achieved. It can also be useful in creating soft gradients or shadows.

Salt Technique: A beautiful starburst effect can be achieved by sprinkling salt over the fabric while still wet. Different size salt granules can be used, from table salt to rock salt, to create different size starbursts. The larger the granule, the larger the effect. The salt should be applied immediately while the fabric is still very wet (the dyes dry quickly and salt will not work on dry areas). The salt crystals will begin to soak up the dye as it dries. Paint a small area and immediately add the salt to that area

Watercolor Method: One of the most exciting methods of painting on silk incorporates the wonderful qualities of the colors spreading and mixing on the silk. Simply paint one color next to another. The dyes will flow and blend automatically. You may pre-wet the fabric to enhance this effect.

Alcohol Method for Bubble Effect: Dip a cotton swab (or brush) in rubbing alcohol and touch to a painted area. Color will flow away from the alcohol, then back as it dries, creating feathery “bubbles”. Once again, this technique will only work while the paint is still wet.

Alcohol Method to Slow Ink Spread: Before applying dye, brush on alcohol, this will cause the dye you paint with to not spread out near as much as without. Water does the opposite, allowing the dye to spread more.

In the video to the right - Artist shows Alcohol Technique to slow the ink spread, and Salt for star burst effects