In last week’s House and Garden Tour blog I spoke a bit about House #2 on the tour, home of David & Sue Atwater, and her beautifully painted silk. I need to correct an error in that blog. The art of painting silk is an ancient process, but the method used by this artist Sue Atwater is called “gutta serti method”. It was revived in France in the 1960s, originally developed by Russian immigrants of the Tsars family who dispersed throughout Europe during the Bolshevik Revolution. Many of the family members were known to have landed in Paris, France in the 1920s. They brought with them their secrets of silk painting and a substance called Gutta. Gutta is a form of clear rubber used on the silk to create crisp images. It was the French’s love for this stunning hand painted silk which caused them to revolutionize the process by the 1960’s.
Gutta Serti Method of hand painting may have revolutionized the process, but the beauty comes from the artist’s natural talents and design ability.
The first step after the artist has created their design is to start the process with the gutta resist. The resist is painstakenly applied to the fabric to ensure the dies do not bleed into each other. Next, using the most delicate brushes the artist design is carefully painted onto the silk with the background being applied last. Once the artist starts the painting process it needs to be completed or hard unwanted lines will be created where the dyes dry between paintings. Did I mention that all these dyes are carefully hand mixed ahead of time to create just the right colors for each design? The painting is complete and the dyes have dried, the silk is wrapped between two pieces of clean newsprint. The silk and paper are rolled onto a wooden dowel, sealed with parchment and steamed over boiling water for 4 hours. Finally the silk is unwrapped and aged anywhere from overnight to a week; this sets the dye colors into the silk. Once the setting of the dye is complete the silk is framed into art or sewn into articles of apparel, or beautiful pillows. Although the process may be tedious the end result is some of the most beautiful silks you can image.
Artist Sue Atwater’s patience, eye and creativity for good design and her enormous talent as a painter makes her a true master of the “gutta serti method”. We are so truly fortunate to have this caliber artist live amongst us here in rural Maine.
Gutta Serti Method of hand painting may have revolutionized the process, but the beauty comes from the artist’s natural talents and design ability.
The first step after the artist has created their design is to start the process with the gutta resist. The resist is painstakenly applied to the fabric to ensure the dies do not bleed into each other. Next, using the most delicate brushes the artist design is carefully painted onto the silk with the background being applied last. Once the artist starts the painting process it needs to be completed or hard unwanted lines will be created where the dyes dry between paintings. Did I mention that all these dyes are carefully hand mixed ahead of time to create just the right colors for each design? The painting is complete and the dyes have dried, the silk is wrapped between two pieces of clean newsprint. The silk and paper are rolled onto a wooden dowel, sealed with parchment and steamed over boiling water for 4 hours. Finally the silk is unwrapped and aged anywhere from overnight to a week; this sets the dye colors into the silk. Once the setting of the dye is complete the silk is framed into art or sewn into articles of apparel, or beautiful pillows. Although the process may be tedious the end result is some of the most beautiful silks you can image.
Artist Sue Atwater’s patience, eye and creativity for good design and her enormous talent as a painter makes her a true master of the “gutta serti method”. We are so truly fortunate to have this caliber artist live amongst us here in rural Maine.
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2 comments:
Thanks for the description of this method of painting! It's funny, I am preparing a blog on my friend Lotty Bunbury who also paints on silk-- http://www.lottyb.com --I think she uses some form of this method as well. If you ever get away to a sunnier place during the winter, you should check out her things--I was just in the islands, and I had someone literally run up to me on the beach, demanding to know where I acquired my cover-up!
It's a beautiful form of art. I got acquainted with it originally in college and more recently when seeing the work of a local artist here in Maine. She create the most beautiful scarfs and wall hangings using this procedure!
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