About Fiber Art and Silk Painting

Painting on silk is the creative application of dye to raw fabric.Paulette Visceglia's art uses fine imported Chinese silk and water based dyes from France.

Silk is an incredibly absorbent fabric. As a result, when dye is applied to fabric it naturally bleeds. To contain the dye to a specific area, such as an eye, a roof, or petal, the object is outlined onto the fabric with resist. Resist, which can be colored, acts as a barrier to stop the bleeding of the dye.

Other effects are possible by painting adjacent areas of the fabric in different colors, using no resist, and allowing them to bleed into each other, creating a blending effect.

For Paulette's art, the process involves sketching objects with resist, mixing the desired colors from primary color dyes, and painting with various brushes and sponges.

The vibrancy of colors in silk painting is the result of both the silk itself and color setting process. Setting the color involves a number of steps. First the piece is steamed in a pressure cooker for two to three hours. For this, the piece is wrapped in cotton cloth, then wrapped in aluminum foil, then put into the pressure cooker. After that, it is washed in a mild shampoo.

When the piece is dry, it is inspected for "booboos." Resist can be maddeningly imperfect, resulting in bleeding where it was not intended. This is inevitable, one of the facts of life when painting on silk. Corrections are made using special techniques with dyes. Imperfections can add to the beauty of the art form.

Finally, the piece is ironed and completed.