SILKWORM...tions for the SPIN Board concerning all Internet related activity of the organization. This includes but is not limited to: Spin Facebook, Email Blasts, silkpainters.org,

The Magazine of Silk Painters InternationalSILKWORM

Volume 18, Issue 4, 4th Quarter 2011

Soul of Silk - Festival 2012The Shape of Things to Come

Feeling Kind of Blue withJan Billings and

Joanna WhiteJean-Louis Mireault with the Indigo Dyers of Viet Nam

“Upright Flying Angel” by Jan Billings

Message from the President

We are on the road to the 2012 Festival. This issue of the Silkworm will highlight some of the exciting committees at work and the time that they are spending to have the “Perfect Festival.”

The Silk Painting International mission is “to establish silk painting as a recognized art form by encouraging and promoting the collec-tion, displaying and production of silk art at the highest level.”

We will be back in Santa Fe, NM at the IAIA campus. The team has been busy getting the housing, meals, classes and all of the major events scheduled.

The invitations have been sent to wonderful instructors and speakers that will keep you motivated the whole time, as well as giving you the hard choice of what workshops you will attend and regrets for the ones that you have to leave off. In this issue you will get a glance at some of the names of the instructors and speakers that have been invited.

There are plans for the Art Exhibit, “The Road Less Traveled . . . New Silk Visions,” displaying the wonderful art of our talented members. The Festival ends with the spectacular Fashion Show, “Kaleidoscope In Silk,” featuring the wearable art created by our members and a fabulous dinner at the beautiful historical Scottish Rite Center.

I appointed a new standing committee to facilitate the web and social media aspects of our organization. The goal of the web com-mittee is to assess, monitor, address issues and to form recommenda-tions for the SPIN Board concerning all Internet related activity of the organization. This includes but is not limited to: Spin Facebook, Email Blasts, silkpainters.org, silkinsantafe.com, Silkworm Face-book, silkwormmagazine.com and Twitter. This, I hope, will bring us up to date with our activities, keep us well informed, and facilitate a dialog with our members, encouraging and inspiring each other through the social media network.

I am looking forward to the 2012 Festival. It’s only 211 days until we meet and enjoy what we love best, painting and exchanging ideas. See you in 2012.

Blessings, Joyce Estes, President of the Board of Directors

By the time you receive this issue, you are probably on your way into or well into the new year. Happy 2012!

We have so much coming your way this year. It is the year of our biennial conference. Planning and scheduling for the conference is well underway.

It is our goal here, at the The Silkworm, to bring you as much information and knowl-edge as possible about the coming festival events with feature stories about some of the artists who will be teaching and lectur-ing at the conference. If there is anything you believe we should include, please let us know your thoughts by writing me at my email address at [email protected]

Please also enjoy our new website at www.silkwormmagazine.com. As we grow, it is our hope to watch the website grow too. Our magazine has a limited size of necessity, so not everything we want to print can be printed. However, as more resources (and volunteers) become available, we hope to increase information that will be of interest to our readers on our website.

Stay tuned for our March issue which will feature articles with the Festival’s featured speakers. Our June issue will include festi-val registration materials for those who are making their last minute plans. My advice, though, don’t be a last minute planner. The Festival is a wonderful place for camarade-rie and sharing. You’ll meet silk artists from around the globe and have time to share and compare techniques. There’s also ample op-portunity to socialize and make new friends. You’ll want to be a part of it.

At this time of transition, I’d like to thank all the people, named and unnamed who help to make the Silkworm a success. A special thanks to Kaki Steward for helpful insights, Deborah Younglao for her keen eye for cor-rect grammar, and to the other copy editors, Phyllis Gordon and Luz Salazar for donating their time and energy. Also, to Shirley Jane Hobbs who has served as both layout artist in the past and as a copy editor.

So, as we say goodbye to one year and foster in another, may you and yours be safe and happy and may your silk adventures be ful-filling!

Tunizia,Editor-in-Chief

Fromthe

Editor’s Desk

2 Silkworm, Issue 4, 2011

SILKWORM

Table of Contents

Features

Feeling Kind of Blue with Joanna White and Jan Billings - 4

Soul of Silk - News About Upcoming Festival - 10

My Magical Journey to Indigo Jean-Louis Mireault - 12

Departments

From the Editor’s Desk - 2Message from the President - 2

Member Information - 9MSP® - The Inside Scoop on the Master

Silk Painter Application ProcessHow To: Indigo, Magical Indigo by

Jacquard Dyes - 16Chapter News: San Diego Guild Hosts Annual Holiday Sale - 18

Credits - 19

Please send Letters to the Editor. Stay in touch. We want you to be involved. If you have comments, complaints or suggestions, please let us know.

If you have photographs of your art that you would like to have used in the Silkworm (as fillers or whenever a picture may be needed or desired) send photos with your name and the name of the piece. The photo size should be minimum 5”x 7” and 300 dpi for best printing.

Please send correspondence or photos to [email protected].


Jacket by Joanna White

Feeling Kind Of BLUEEver wonder who dreams up this stuff? Who concocts this delectable fantasy, all for a woman to wear. She adorns herself, and she becomes a part of the living fantasy, the walking fairy tale, from a time told of in myth.

Is it elves? Is it fairies? Is it some other wee folk who live in some magical, invisible and forgotten realm, out of the sight and senses of mere mortals? Is it small and nimble fingers at all?

Here, the invisible ones have created a fantasy in shades of blue, perfect for a nymph to frolic in the woods, garden or meadow. Note the swirls of color painted onto lucious silk fabric.


The nimble fingers that crafted the details that enhance the garment - lace, feathers. The lace, hand-dyed to match the painted garment - what attention to detail.

No detail has been left to chance, the magical beings even going so far as to choose the shoes for the appointed rendezvous. Shoes carefully chosen to enhance the adventure and keep her dancing into the wee hours of dawn

Silkworm, Issue 4, 20115

Again, the hand painted, hand sculptured lace details gracing the shoulders of a beauty destined to become a part of history, myth or legend.

This dress, like something from Cleopatra’s closet mimics the flamboyant colors of the peacock.

A slice of the delectable fabric for closer inspection shows the many swirls of color that went into creating this garment.

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Every culture has legends about the

wee folks. Tiny invisible beings that

work with or for artisans. Working

under cover of dark, they create, produce or improve upon an

artist’s work.

When a woman has plans for an adventurous night on the town, she needs something in which to shine. The tiny magical hands are hard at work again. When they finish she’ll be a vision on her night to shine.

Where is she going? A sunset cruise? A midnight rendezvous on a cool Spring night? Whatever her secret destination, she needs a gentle wrap to keep her warm.

There were different names for these beings - elves,

gnomes, fairies. Usually, these beings were thought to be invisible at all but

certain times and only to certain people.



We’re in luck, though. The items you’ve see on these pages were not created by tiny

invisible hands at all. They were created by

full-fledged silk artists! You’ve seen the work, now meet the artists.

What do you call them? Angel or

demon? Most cultures viewed the wee folks

as friendly, albeit mischievous. Artists

in trouble would sometimes seek their

aid. But beware. Legend also has it that sometimes they exact

a price.

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Enshrouded in a starry night, passersby will see only visions of the galaxy as the lady wanders off to . . .

“She walks in beauty, like the night, Of cloudless climes and starry skiesAnd all that’s best of dark and bright, Meet in her aspect and her eyes” (George Gordon/Lord Byron poem, “She Walks In Beauty”).

Ready for a dance under a full moon, she dons her jacket and offers her hand.

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Jan is the designer of the mystical gowns shown on the previous pages. Having trained at the Royal College of Art in Printed and Woven Textiles, it took Jan some time to come to the art form which she now loves. During that time, she experimented with many mediums. She worked with printed and woven textiles, enameled jewelry, graphic design, stained glass, oil and watercolour painting and

on and on. Eventually, she discovered silk painting and the rest is history (or her story so far). “When my brush touched the silk and spread in a magical way, I knew that at last I had found what I had been searching for. The luminosity of silk combined with glowing paints had me addicted. I have been experimenting with different techniques ever since!” Taking her inspiration from nature – plants, landscapes – and music, she works through the rainbow of colors. However, she finds herself drawn to certain colors and they form a theme in her work. “I like to work through the spectrum but keep returning to silver, violet, purple!” Jan’s designs seem to call back to another era, back to a time of myth and legend. Some of her designs look as though they may have come from Cleopatra’s closet. Of course, she lives in Glastonbury, England, a place steeped in mystical mythology and longstanding legend. This magical aspect appears to inform her work. When asked how she approaches the design of a gown she states, “I usually work with my client to discuss the design of the silk piece. I prefer not to cut into the silk at all, but use a technique of draping and pleating.” These draped gowns are sometimes held in place with a hand-knitted wirework piece in colors coordinated to match the gown. These lacy pieces are handmade by her daughter Rachel. Jan has quite a method for stretching her silks. Made for her by a friend she states about her frame, “It is the largest frame I could fit into my studio.....and to be able to walk around it. The table supporting it is on castors so I move it around. The size was also determined by the standard width of silk satin – 140 cm. Her frame is 200 cm by 140 cm (approximately 6.5 feet by 4.5 feet). Her studio has a large view looking out on nature and the sea, so there’s plenty of inspiration around. See more of Jan’s work at . Here you may also view the lace work of her daughter, Rachel Reiley. Also visit where you can see Jan’s bed and breakfast which she has liberally bedecked with her paintings on silk. What a great way to spread knowledge of and appreciation for the art of silk painting!

“Evolution is a part of life.” So begins Joanna’s adventure into the world of silk painting. While taking a watercolor class given by a neighbor and professional artist, Joanna found herself struggling with the medium. “Paper seemed like such an unforgiving canvas. The question occurred in my mind....was there a way to move color on fiber?” Joanna searched for an art form that resonated. Her search led her to the internet. “The internet became my teacher and videos on You Tube led me from one instructor to another. I was on my way to becoming a silk painter.” A self-taught artist, Joanna has spent the last five years establishing herself as a professional artist. “Opportunities and doors kept opening and my rule of thumb is to respond to each opening door. My careers as a special educator and non-profit manager had ended. Being a silk artist seemed to be the next step for me.” “Creating art to wear,” she states, “is a process of co-creation which unfolds organically. Color is my joy and I find myself painting the colors that are loved best: blues, purples, greens and the golden colors of autumn. In my mind’s eye is a grouping of colors and in my basket of tricks are techniques like resists of soy and gutta, watercolor techniques and embellishments.” She uses a variety of silks for her canvas, often mounting one piece upon another on a print table rather than a frame. “A design is created with resist and the colors almost choose themselves. It is a serendipitous process dictated by the color muses who dance magically upon the silk.” At the end she has her fabric from which to work. Would the silk like to be a jacket or a scarf? Perhaps a dress? “It is very much an intuitive process.” See the jackets and wraps on the previous pages. Once it has been decided what the silk will become, Joanna draws upon the excellent sewing skills that she learned from grandmother and aunt. Joanna teaches at the Sawtooth School of Visual Art in Winston-Salem. She also teaches local girl scouts through Sugar Valley Craftsmen “as a way of giving back to my community and also hopefully creating a new generation of silk artists.” Her current focus is to teach and continue to grow as a professional artist. This includes not only improving her technical skill, but her marketing and entrepreneurial skills as well. See her work at her website .


The MSP® is a designation that SPIN created to acknowledge silk painters who have achieved a level of mastery with the art of silk painting.

To apply for the Master Silk Painter designation, the artist must be a member in good standing in SPIN for a year and they must have exhibited in two national or international juried SPIN events.

The deadline for the next induction round isMay 1, 2012. Please see the website for further details on how to apply.

SIGNATURE MEMBERSHIP

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Ongoing display of 45 inch wide x 42 inch long silk panels. Open to SPIN members only. Send your submissions at any time. Deadlines for submis-sion are: January 1st, April 1st and September 1st. Questions, contact Aileen Horn at: [email protected].

The 2012 SPIN Festival “Silk in Santa Fe” juried Art Show Exhibit, “The Road Less Traveled. . . New Silk Visions,” is challenging silk painters to “dream with your eyes open” and “turn the world of silk painting upside down.” Art Exhibit coordinators are Suzanne Knight and Judith Roderick.

Be thinking about - or creating - the garments you’ll want to reveal at the Festival Fashion Show.

And congratulations to Lenaria Brondum. Lenaria - who likes to be called Len - is a cloisonne artist in addition to being an accomplished silk painter. She too has recently been awarded the designation of Master Silk Painter. See Len’s art at www.enam-elandsilkbylenb.com

Keep watching the SPIN website for details and the official call for entries for both the art and fashion shows!

Ratner Museum in Bethesda, Maryland.

The Road Less Traveled . . . New Silk Visions

Kaleidoscope in Silk - Fashion Show

CALL FOR ENTRIES

MEMBER INFORMATION

Congratulations to Christine Sutherland, one of the latest members to receive the official title of Master Silk Painter. Christine does beautiful work, scenes from nature, lush florals and desert flowers. Visit her website at www.csutherlandart.com

Christine Sutherland, MSP®

Newest Inductees to MSP®

Len Brondum, MSP®


By Claudia Wagemann and the2012 SPIN Festival Team

FESTIVAL 2012THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME


Every year the SPIN Festival and Conference gets better and better. So many volunteers are making it successful! For 2012, the SPIN Festival Planning Team started meeting in January.

Joanna White, in North Carolina, has been recruiting since March and has found a diverse group for your learning pleasure. She has sent out contracts to 27 amazingly talented artists to be the speakers, panelists, and instructors.

Ursula Wamister, in Switzerland, has taken on the daunting task of the festival website. She has added wonderful pictures and is also planning on adding a volunteer section so attendees can help out with odd jobs. Ursula has made every component of the Festival website as interactive as possible. Please feel free to ask questions.

Stephany Andrews, of Santa Maria, California, was a great advisor to our team until she found herself wearing too many hats. She is currently a SPIN Board member, Membership Chair, Chapter Chair, as well as President of her local SPIN Chapter, which she started last January. Wow!

Joyce Estes, in Eastpoint, Florida, has added advice to our team as we have progressed down the road of creating another festival in Santa Fe. We greatly appreciate Joyce’s

attitude, she often says,”Just tell me what you need and I’ll do what I can.”

Kaki Steward in South Laguna Beach, California, who with Julia Croccetto, in Alaska, along with other key volunteers, organized the 2010 Festival. Kaki is as involved now as then, acquiring committee chairs and making millions of phone calls. Because of her, we are again at the IAIA. Her advice is invaluable. She is also creating the calendar to show off the top Signature Art Contest entries.

Claudia Wagemann, Grover Beach, California, as Chair of this team has been twiddling her thumbs as she writes the minutes and agendas for the meetings, crunches numbers, organized the Festival Signature Art Contest and is chair of the Fashion Show Team.

More importantly, Claudia would not be able to do her job without the mentoring of Kaki who in turn is mentored by Lee Zimmerman, in Duluth, Minnesota, who was the past President of SPIN as well as the 2008 Festival Team Leader. Lee is also the webmaster and recently created the amazing new opening page. Check out www.silkpainters.org. Lee is currently creating a very interactive registration program for the festival.

SPIN is an all volunteer non-profit organization. Our Mission is to establish silk painting as a recognized art form by encouraging and promoting the collection, displaying and production of silk art at the highest level.The program and scheduling are coming together. Below is a tentative schedule of classes and speakers. This year’s conference will boast 4 full days of classes with a 1 day, all day conference. This schedule is subject to change. Keep checking www.silkinsantafe.com for regular updates. Also, make sure that we have your e-mail address when you renew your membership for 2012. That way, you can receive regular up-to-the-minue e-mails about the status of the conference.

Festival Schedule

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:Mary Edna Fraser - Silk Perspectives

OTHER SPEAKERS: Kiranada Sterling Benjamin - Wrapped in Silk: An Artist’s StoryJane Dunnewold - Intrinsically Human: At the Heart of Creative Process

© Ron Gutman

PANEL: A lively discussion with these artists:

Suzanne Punch, MSP Susan Louise Moyer Mary Edna Fraser Kiranada Sterling Benjamin Jane Dunnewold Judith Meeks (Moderator)

Loyal Instructors who are again sharing their knowledge:

Jackie Bradley: Explosions with Shibori; Wonders of ShiboriNatasha Foucault, MSP: Colors Coming AliveJan Janas, MSP: Technique Overlays on a Silk BlouseDiane Lawrence: Silken Skies and Other Landscape MattersSusanne Punch, MSP: Color Vibrancy; Abstract Painting; Advanced Silk PaintingSissi Siska: Silk SmorgasbordDiane Tuckman: Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About ScarvesLinda Walters: Designing Garments with ShiboriLee Zimmerman: Capturing the Figure on Silk

We are pleased to welcome these returning artists:

Phillippa Lack, MSP: Embellishments on SilkSusan Louise Moyer: DyeColour™ Painting on Silk;Setting up for Field Studies (plein-air) on Silk

First time SPIN Festival Instructors:

Sande Anderson: Silk Painting and Surface Design Kiranada Sterling Benjamin: Introduction to Rozome - Japanese Batik with Soywax/BeeswaxIrma Braun-Hampton: Arashi Shibori - Silken Bubbles; Geometric Designs & Table Top SculpturesLiena Dieck, MSP: Use of Cold Wax in Fine Art & Decorative Painting on SilkJane Dunnewold: Going for Authenticity: Accessing Your Artist’s VoiceGeri Forkner: Nuno Felt for Texture, Shape, and ColorMary Edna Fraser: Mapping Your Personal LandscapeCarol Garnand: Alpaca to Vicuna Felting; Nuno Felting on SilkVicki Luffman: Nuno Felting with SilkTim O’Neill: The Internet via a Wordpress BlogMarcia Petty: Designing Garments with ShiboriPeggy Sue Richards: Color, Design and Shapes....Oh MY!!!!Diane Ricks: Planning your Silk Painting for Garment Design; Sewing on SilkKaren Sistek, MSP: Learn how to free yourself from Resist and Gutta!Christine Sutherland: Painting without Resist LinesSuzanne Visor: Traveling the Silk Side Roads: Not for the Faint of Heart


My Magical Journeyto

INDIGO

by Jean Louis-Mireault, MSP®

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Traveling around the world, I discovered that silk painting has a long and rich history and tradition with humanity. To put color on fabric and to transform it into artworks or garments is a long-lived human adventure. Red, purple, yellow, green…blue, humans have used natural elements to explore and discover different dyes that will enhance their lives, transforming a black and white vision into a full color daily life.

Let me tell you about my specific indigo experience. There is a place, in northwest Vietnam where old communities are protected and still live as they have done since the middle ages. Even if boys drive motorcycles and girls communicate with cell phones, the agricultural lifestyle is the way the people live in this village. With the rice field terraces, the use of cattle to cultivate, the wood houses that can be deconstructed and reconstructed in the same day, traditional life creates an atmosphere where you will feel comfortable enough to settle in instantly.

Wandering around the village, I visited some of the houses. Women offered garments and souvenirs; others, sculptures made of stone. And then there was this one house that I wanted to explore. Once inside, I spied in the corner of the main apartment, a barrel full of liquid. I could hardly see

that the liquid was blue – purple blue – because of the lack of light inside the house. I asked the lady of the house, “what is it”? “It is our bath of indigo where we dye our clothes,” she answered. This “blue jeans” color was there, in front of my


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To learn more about indigo, visit this page on the web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_dye.

are added to achieve a beautiful article, such as a fantastic shirt.

Of course, indigo is used in many other countries as well: Japan, China, India. And of course, there are the blue men of the Sahara – the various peoples who wear robes dyed with the little indigo plant.

Now, the simple name of this color will bring you to a dreamy adventure in your workshop. Have a nice blue day.

eyes and it reveals all its mystery. The Indigofera is cultivated in this part of the world and it is this pure indigo that is used to dye cotton.

The Blue Hmong, the Sapa’s tribe, are great artists. It is funny and revealing when you look at these ladies with blue fingers, a direct result of their incessant contact with the magic color. A smile on the face, a kind word to welcome you, a long conversation to buy a shirt, a joy in their eyes when you exchange money for this wearable artwork… and everything is dipped in blue, indigo blue.

I felt I was in a special place, lost in the north of Vietnam and that I was free to enjoy this traditional way to embellish clothe. What great fortune to be in the company of these people and this world of rich traditions.

In the streets of this little village, the land all carved in terraces for the rice fields, you can meet women that sell all types of garments that were dyed with real indigo. Many decorations

Jean-Louis with Indigo Dyers in Sapa, Vietnam


The Inside Scoop on the Master Silk Painter Application Process

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As many of you know, in 2009 SPIN introduced a new Signature Membership level to its members in recognition of artistic achievement in silk painting. Anyone working in 2 or 3-D media or in wearable art can apply. If the review of one’s portfolio by the panel of professional artists is successful, the applicant will be designated a Master Silk Painter and entitled to use the initials “MSP®” after their name. They also have their work exhibited on SPIN’s website.

I was very honoured and excited when asked to submit my portfolio for the very first round of evaluations. Together with five other artists I was awarded this title and introduced into the SPIN Signature Membership Selection Committee. We are the Committee that reviews the applications of prospective MSP candidates.

And so my joys and sufferings, as a Master Silk Painter, began…

The Committee realized that it was necessary to give potential applicants more detailed information – both about the MSP title and about the submission and evaluation processes. Since everyone who knows me, knows that “detail” might as well be my middle name, it is clear why, though slight pressure from my peers, I volunteered to write this article.

I give much credit to Suzanne Punch, the Chairperson of the Committee, who, like an experienced harbour pilot, carefully guides us through the hidden shallows and reefs of the evaluation process. Suzanne has already shared her keen insight into our procedures in her recent article “Master Silk Painters - the Evaluation Process,” published in the spring 2011 issue of the Silkworm.

To continue the work started by Suzanne, I would like to try to sum up what it takes to be a Master Silk Painter. I’ll go step by step through the application process, share advice on how to make it successful, and how to cope with rejection, if, despite one’s best efforts, an applicant does not receive the necessary vote.

Part I: The History of “Master” Artist Designations

In medieval Europe the title of “master” applied only to artisans and craftsmen of different professional guilds. To become a master the craftsman had to start as an apprentice, gain knowledge and experience that would gradually make him a journeyman, and then wait for the honour of being elected to be designated a master craftsman. The time from apprentice to journeyman to master took many years of professional growth.

When the journeyman was ready to become master and join the guild, he would bring them an agreed upon sum of money. Besides its evident purpose, this sum demonstrated that the craftsman was successful in his work. He also presented a masterpiece – the finest example of his creativity and professional skills.

The masterpiece was carefully examined by the masters and the decision would be made to accept or reject artist. If the masterpiece was indeed accepted, the craftsman would become a master (i.e., a member of the guild). If it was rejected, the craftsman would have very slim chances of joining the guild in the future and would potentially remain an outsider for the rest of his life.

Luckily for us, we do not live in medieval Europe. While SPIN’s goal is to bestow as much meaning, importance and

respect upon the title of Master Silk Painter as it might have commanded in the distant past, the application rules and evaluation procedures have significantly changed for the better.

What is a Master Silk Painter?We believe a Master Silk Painter today is someone who:• takes painting on silk seriously and is either a

professional artist or a truly dedicated hobbyist;• has spent a respectable amount of time (more than

a month or a year) learning silk painting techniques and has honed the necessary skills through individual dedicated work or has also benefited from workshops and classes taken from well-known silk painters;

• exhibits clear individuality and maturity of artistic perception, style and expression;

• contributes to the advancement of the art of silk painting by reshaping, enriching, transforming traditional techniques and using them as a springboard for the evolution of the art of painting on silk.

Being an MSP in SPIN is no bed of roses. The title comes with a lot of responsibilities to oneself, as an artist, and to others. People look at an MSP’s work as an inspiration, a high standard by which they measure their own work. They try to form their first-time viewer opinions about this art based on what they see from the best in the field of silk painting.

None of us, who have this title, brag about it – it weighs on us heavily. It makes us more serious when approaching our work. It also adds a degree of wisdom and patience when evaluating the work of prospective applicants.

Part II: The Application Process –Get it Right the First Time

In many cases what creates problems for the Committee is the applicant’s totally wrong approach to writing a resume and compiling a portfolio. Let’s review these in detail.

• An Artist’s Resume is not the same as an artist’s statement although it is an integral part of the resume. It is preferable to write the resume in the first person. Make it factual. Try to stay within a one page limit. Resumes are usually posted next to the artist’s work during an exhibit, or kept in a folder in a gallery. This is a way for the artist to be heard even when absent. With this in mind avoid giving an abridged history of your life. Instead, offer a clear, concise and factual statement. It should include the following:

1. Why do you do what you do (paint/dye/sew/sculpt, etc.)?2. What influences you and your work?3. Are you using your work to make a statement?4. What materials do you use and why?5. What are your preferred techniques? Why?6. In what shows have you exhibited your work? (Mention

any awards received)?7. Have any publications featured your work?8. What is your art-related education (include master classes

and workshops)?9. What do you do now (professional artist, teacher, etc.)?10. Do you have a website? Include your website address so

interested viewers can see more of your work.



Answers to the first five questions should comprise the artist’s statement. Your other answers will help you to create a well planned and well thought out resume.

The Committee needs to better understand you so we can better evaluate your work. We are interested in all the information listed above, but ask that your resume not exceed three pages.

• An Artist’s Portfolio, for the MSP evaluation, needs to contain images of your very best work accompanied by a written description of each piece. It is as simple as that.

Occasionally the MSP Committee Chair has had to practically nurse applicants through the process of compiling their portfolios.

As a professional artist who participates in many national, grand national and international exhibits, I am accustomed to following to the letter the strict rules and requirements for each show. Failure to do so would result in my immediate rejection. If any part of the necessary information is missing, if the image dimensions are incorrectly stated, my work would not be considered.

The selection committee would not waste their time contacting me to remedy the situation. If it is not important enough to the artist to present his/her work in the manner prescribed, it certainly is not important for the jurors to consider it.

Committee members are often lost for words when faced with the poor efforts made by applicants in their portfolio preparations. Up till now, we have been very accommodating when dealing with incomplete or poorly comprised applications. However, this will soon stop.

In our last round of evaluations, we decided that in the future evaluations, the Committee will not spend time extracting necessary information from applicants. You get one chance to submit your application. If it is done improperly, it will be rejected.

Please consider, even when applications are done properly, it takes, on average, at least four hours per artist to review the submitted materials, write an evaluation and score the applicant. The Committee then meets for a two-hour conference call to discuss the applicants. There are generally two to seven applicants for each semi-annual round of evaluations. You do the math. It’s a lot of work.

Rules and Guidelines for Applying for MSPHere are the absolute “must follow” rules by which every

applicant needs to abide:

1. Choosing your art. Look at your body of work and select five of your very best pieces that represent you as an artist to the fullest degree. If you can’t decide your best work, get the opinion of people you know – friends, clients, other artists. At least four of these pieces should have been completed in the last five years. One piece may have been completed earlier. We would expect to see that:

• all five pieces of work look cohesive,

• they are original and do not infringe a copyright,

• they show your style well

• they demonstrate your artistic growth while still being easily identifiable as uniquely yours.

Please, do not submit images of work that have been created during a workshop or under supervision, and strictly observe copyright laws. It is wonderful to use other artists’ work for inspiration, but it is a crime to copy it.

2. Photographing Your Art. Prepare the best quality digital images of the selected work.

• Photograph each image full size. If the painting is framed crop out the frame in your photo editing software.

• Take close-up shots of each image to allow us to see the details and admire your skills.

• If you must use a background, use solid colour, preferably gray or off-white, when photographing wall hangings;.

• Wearable art can be photographed outdoors – but do it tastefully.

• Have everything that is not stretched on a frame ironed and wrinkle-free when photographed;

• Do not show work with grease spots caused by wax residue that was not properly removed from fabric.

• Image requirements are as follows:

o format - jpg; o resolution - 300 dpi; o dimensions - no less than 1200 pixels on the

image’s longest side; o image names should be as follows:

YourLastName_Title.jpg (for example: Parker_WinterSunset.jpg);

If you do not take good photos yourself, consider using a professional. A professional can provide you with images of your work cropped and formatted to your specifications. In the end, you are the one who will benefit from these high quality images and they may serve a useful purpose beyond your application for MSP.

3. Preparing Supporting Materials. In a separate typed document, provide the following information about each piece:

• Title,• Medium (example: dyes on habutai silk, or Dupont

acid dyes on habutai silk),• Dimensions (framed art – give dimensions without

the frame; sculptured art – give three dimensions: height, width and depth),

• Year of completion,• Description of your technique (example: the original

drawing is transferred onto the stretched silk, outlined with solvent-based black gutta, than painted with Jacquard acid dyes; special effects are achieved through the application of water/alcohol mixture and salt; finished piece was steamed, dry-cleaned and washed to remove all chemical residue).

Please remember that if you want your work to be taken seriously, it starts with you. Respect the efforts you put into creating your art by photographing and presenting it in the best possible way.

(Continued in the Next Issue - Part III. The Inside Scoop On The Evaluation Process

To learn more about writing a good artist’s statement, please visit blog.leniwiener.com and search for “resume.” You will gain a lot of useful information and will be entertained.

Liena Dieck is an accomplished silk painter and member of the MSP Committee. Visit her website at www.ld-art.com.

Indigo, Magical Indigo!Indigo is one of the oldest dyes used for coloring fabrics and the one still used today to color blue jeans. Indigo dye

traditionally comes from a plant. The beautiful blue dye is made from the leaves of the plant through a process of fermen-tation. Indigo is grown in subtropical climates including some southern states of the United States. Throughout history indigo was revered and sought after as a valuable commodity. Fabrics dyed with indigo were not only used for fashions but also for religious rituals and to distinguish social or political status. The procedure of dyeing with indigo has changed little

throughout time. This distinctive blue dye still provides one of the most wondrous and rewarding dyeing experiences available to any dyer.

Dyeing with indigo is unique compared to other dyes. In its natural state, indigo is insoluble in water. Therefore it must go through a process where it is ‘reduced’ and put into a liquid state with the oxygen removed. Although recipes for dye vats vary, all are based on reducing the indigo into a water-soluble form. In the ‘reduced’ state the indigo dye liquid is a yellow green color and in this form the indigo will be able to penetrate the fibers of the fabric. When the fabric is removed from the dye vat it is initially this same yellow green color, but will begin to turn blue as the oxygen in the air reacts with the indigo. As the indigo oxidizes, it becomes trapped within the fibers, making the dye permanent. The indigo dye in the Jacquard In-digo Dye kit is 60% reduced. Traditionally, indigo would be pasted up with

some denatured alcohol and heated to get it to dissolve into water. Jacquard’s Pre-Reduced Indigo easily mixes with water and therefore makes setting up an indigo vat practically effortless. If you’ve ever done tie dye with other dyes, you will be amazed at how easy it is to get great results with indigo. Here is the basic process for setting up an indigo vat and dyeing with the Jacquard Indigo Dye Kit:

Setting up the indigo vat:

1. Fill the five gallon container with 4 gallons warm tap water.2. While stirring, slowly empty the Soda Ash and Thiox packets

into the water. 3. Empty the indigo dye packet into the water. Stir. 4. Gently, but thoroughly stir the vat in a one direction circular

motion. Once the vat is well mixed slow down and reverse the direction of the stirring as you drag the stir stick along the outer edge of the vat before slowly removing it. Cover the vat with a lid and allow it to settle for at least 15 minutes to 1/2 hour. For best results, wait one hour.

5. After the vat has settled, remove the lid. The top of the dye bath

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will be covered with a layer of foam called the ‘flower’ or ‘bloom’. Gently push aside the ‘flower’ to check the color of the liquid. The dye bath should be a clear yellow or yellow-green color under the flower. If it’s not, wait another 1/2 hour and check again.

Indigo will dye any natural fiber. Fabric artists and yarn enthusiasts alike will love the subtle variations and patterns that can be created by simple binding techniques. (Many patterns are included in the Jacquard Indigo Dye Kit instructions and on our website www.jacquardproducts.com).

Dyeing:

1. Fold, tie or bind your garment or fiber. 2. Thoroughly wet or soak your fabric in water.3. When you are ready to begin dyeing remove the cover from the vat.

Wearing gloves, use a small container to gently scoop the flower from the top of the vat. Set it aside.

4. Squeeze excess water and air out of your fabric.5. While still squeezing your fabric, slowly submerge your piece into

the dye vat. Once submerged gently manipulate the piece to ensure that the dye will penetrate the unbound parts evenly. You may work the piece in the vat underneath the surface for one to several min-utes in this way. Do not drop the fabric in the vat and let it sink to the bottom. There will be residue that has settled on the bottom of the vat and you don’t want to stir that up while you are dyeing. The residue can cause spots on your dyed piece.

6. When you are ready to take the fabric out of the vat, squeeze it just below the surface as you slowly remove it from the vat. You want to prevent splashing as this introduces oxygen back into the vat. The fabric will be the same yellow green of the vat. Slowly, the fabric will begin to turn blue as the oxygen in the air contacts it. Place the cover over the container.

7. Set aside the fabric to allow the piece to completely oxidize. You may want to turn the piece and open up any areas that you want to turn blue. Let oxidize for about 20 minutes.

8. Once the item has oxidized you can either repeat steps 4 - 7 to achieve darker shades of blue or you can rinse excess indigo from the piece, untie, and wash with a mild detergent and warm water.

9. When you’ve finished your dyeing session, gently put the flower back onto the surface of the vat. Using your stir stick, gently stir the vat as before in a circular motion and reversing the direction and centering the flower. Place lid back onto vat and let settle for at least an hour before using the vat again. The vat will keep for several days or weeks and you will be able to dye several times.

10. When you are ready to dispose of the vat, empty contents down the drain. Clean up bucket and utensils with a powdered cleanser or soap.

A little more helpful information:•The general idea in keeping an indigo vat is that you want to keep the

vat as oxygen free as possible. That is why not splashing and squeez-ing excess air from the fabric is important.

•Store the vat in an area where the temperature will remain between 68 - 85° F, a comfortable room temperature. Keep out of reach of chil-dren and animals. Always store with the lid on the container.

•Keep in mind that the color is much darker when wet.

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CHAPTER NEWSSan Diego Silk Guild Annual Holiday Sale


Yea US!!!! We are the proud. We are the happy. We are the San Diego Silk Guild.

Saturday, November 12, 2011, we held our annual holiday sale. San Diego hardly EVER gets rain. We can always expect a 75 degree sunny day. Except THIS time. It rained cats and dogs. Still they came to our event. Who came to our event? Friends, relatives, people who saw our signs, people who read our flyers, those who saw the advertisement in the San Diego newspaper, those who saw the advertisement on our website, book club friends, neighbors… lions and tigers and bears, oh my!!!

I am guessing we had between 100 and 200 people visit us this blustery day. I love seeing people support silk art so faithfully. We worked hard to make ourselves visible. In Cultivating a Guild, this is one technique that works. We held a Guild event at a Guild member’s home. Out of the 16 members in our Guild, 12 members got involved in this event.

We made San Diego Silk Guild membership applications available by laying them out on a table. We displayed a little literature on the benefits of being a member of both SPIN and San Diego Silk Guild. We enticed three visitors to join our Guild on that rainy afternoon. These three ladies wanted to join our guild for quite some time, but they waited to meet us in person to “seal the deal. The San Diego Silk Guild is now 19 members strong. Still looking for a “Few good men.” Starting to think we need to run an ad in the “personals” column......

Overall, the sale went well and our event was a success.

The San Diego Silk Guild, is a SPIN Chapter, formed in April 2007. At present, we are Addie Chernus, Founder of the chaper and its first President, Carol Kear, Jan Janas (co-founder of SPIN along with Diane Tuckman), Julie Sanderson, Judy Stinton, Kaki Steward, Marjorie Pezzoli. Mary Ann Zeis, Mimi Levinson, Natasha Papousek, Renee Frank, Susie Sherwin and me, Suzanne Knight. Our numbers are growing. We’ve made it our mission to “To Further Silk Art thru Outreach, Exhibits and Workshops.” If you’re in the San Diego area and would like to join us, you can contact me at [email protected].

Dress by Jan Billings

SILKWORMCREDITS

Editor-in-Chief: Tunizia Abdur-RaheemCopy Editors: Luz Salazar, Phyllis Gordon,Kaki StewardArt Direction and Layout: Tunizia Abdur-Raheem

Front Cover, Pages 4 and 5: Jan BillingsBack Cover, Pages 6 and 7: Joanna White

All Photographs of Jan Billings, Joanna White, Jean-Louis Mireault, and/or their works remain the property of the respective artist.

Story and photos about Jacquard’s products are provided by Jacquard and are their property. Our use of the story is provided for informational purposes only and not endorsed or disputed by SPIN.

All other uncredited stories written or reported by Tunizia Abdur-Raheem

SILKWORM is the quarterly magazine of SPIN -- Silk Painters International -- a nonprofit organization of silk artists, painters, practitioners, and educators. SPIN provides its members opportunities to network with kindred spirits and to grow through workshops, conferences, juried competitions, and gallery exhibitions. Material contained in The Silkworm belongs exclusively to The Silkworm and/or the artist. Do not reprint without written permission.


Don’t forget to renew your membership.Membership renewals are due in January.

Want to advertise in Silkworm? Send for our media kit at [email protected].

To become a member of SPIN or renew your membership, visit www.silkpainters.org/membership.html

Membership is $50 USD annually andrenewable in January of each year.

Look for us on Facebook.

Send change of address or questions about membership status to:

Stephany Andrews - Membership CoordinatorEmail: [email protected]: 805-934-5353www.stephanysgallery.com

Website: www.silkpainters.org

spin Silk Painters International

Promoting the Fine Art of Silk Painting Around the World

The SILKWORM28364 S. Western Avenue, No. 463Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275USA

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