Nature doesn’t make copies.
I dye many of the scarves with plants, bark, and berries foraged from our property and the adjoining river corridor.
This means no two hand-painted silks will ever be identical.
Each scarf is an original moment in color—hand-created and guided by nature.
Cottonwood Leaves on Silk – ready for whatever happens!
An original approach to silk painting
I’ve always been captivated by art painted on silk, imagining that someday I might create something of my own. When the opportunity finally came, I knew I’d have to let go of some control. Somehow, the timing felt just right.
I wanted to challenge myself—not to become a perfect line painter or create flawless, predetermined designs, but to explore what happens when I let the silk and paint participate in the creative process.
That is why I do not use any type of wax resist, gutta, or any medium that creates a barrier to prevent dye from bleeding across the fabric. That is also why I don’t stretch and torture the silk by using stretching frames.
I cast my ideas and colors onto silk, then respond to what unfolds. Paint moves in unexpected ways. Shapes emerge. One idea leads to another, and sometimes the finished piece bears little resemblance to what I first imagined. I interpret, adapt, add, and create alongside the silk itself.
I know that without pre-drawn designs, silk-stretching, and resists, my work won’t have the precise perfection of more controlled silk painting. That’s a conscious choice. I want to feel a little uncomfortable. I want to leave room for uncertainty, surprise, and the possibility of something I couldn’t have planned.
Because sometimes, when I stop trying to dictate every outcome, things simply happen.
And I learn to appreciate them for what they are.
The scarf becomes an invitation to see things differently.
Plants, trees, nuts, and berries on my property that help guide my colors:
Yellow – Goldenrod – Coreopsis – Dandelion – Yarrow – Black-Eyed Susan – Wild Bergamot – Horsetail – Sugar Maple – Black Locust
Orange/Orange Red – Jewelweed – Lilac – Butterfly Milkweed – Cottonwood
Pink/Peach/Red – Black Willow – Birch – Lavender – Black Locust – Poke Berries – Wild Bergamot – Ornamental Cherry
Green – Stinging Nettle – Horsetail – Black Raspberry – Cottonwood – Pine Needles
Purple/Blue – Wild Black Cherry – Elderberry – Chokeberry – Black Raspberry – Red Mulberry
Brown/Tan – Oak – Acorns – Black Walnuts – Cattail – Sugar Maple – Birch – Cottonwood – Pine
Black/Deep Brown – Black Walnut – Butternut – Sumac – Cottonwood
Eastern White Pines for pale greens and tans/gray.
Majestic Cottonwood – for greens, browns, and golden orange.
Lavender by the river for purples and pinks.
Dyes from river plants and traditional dyes, painted at the river’s edge.
A trippy rainbow scarf painted directly on the grass on a hot summer day.
