Sunset Dahlia

     Another weekend passes and another scarf is completed.  This is not exactly what I had hoped the final product would look like.  However, I must remind myself that it is not yet done the process.  This scarf still has to be steamed and washed, and through those processes the dyes will become more vibrant, some will fade, and the overall look will change once I have finished.  I'm sure that someone will find this one beautiful somewhere.  It's the trouble with this medium, you can hope and plan the best you can, and in the end, it just might not turn out the way you wanted it to. 

 
     Now, this one was tricky.  I extended the petals to the ends of the scarf and this is dangerous.  Most of the time, the resist will not hold at the edges and it will bleed into an area that you don't want the dye to go.  I have not yet found a way around this problem, except to never extend my lines beyond the boarder and if I do, like as in this case, I use very light washes. This way, if any bleeding occurs it will not be as noticeable.  It's a cheat, but I would like to eventually find a way around this problem.  There must be a way that it can be done.  In the meantime, I will have to do with resisting layer upon layer at the boarder on both sides of the scarf; in hopes that those layers will be able to dam the bleeding dye.  I will give that a try next time and see if it will work.

     The greatest tragedy about this art form is that it does not make a ton of money.  Therefore, a lot of artists who practice silk painting will offer courses and make books of techniques on order to make extra cash.  These courses mostly focus on teaching people the basics, like making very abstract designs using salt and resist, which is where we have to start I suppose.  However, artists are very stingy when it comes to divulging how they do things.  Which is phenomenally frustrating to people like myself who are completely willing to give tips to people without asking them for money.  I once e-mailed this silk painter in England asking him how he got rid of his resist lines.  This artist replied to me stating, "If you want to know, you can buy my book and it will be able to tell you".  The cost of shipping his book from England, PLUS the fact that his book cost 30 British pounds did NOT make it worth my while.  I can understand, fine, you are a business and are in it to make money; but, ugh, information should be available to everyone.  I guess I am his competition and that is one way to detour competition.  Oh well, I will push on regardless of Stingy McArtist.