Silk & Chocolate - a delicious lesson for scarf lovers

Are you obsessed with chocolate? Have a weakness for silk?

My dear, this post is for you.

This entry was created in order to help my clients pick the right type of silk when placing a custom order. While musing over describing each lovely silk base, the similarities to chocolate just came naturally. The smooth, rich textures, the heavenly satisfying feeling, life's little indulgences.. it became clear that silk and chocolate are like peas in a pod. Have your glass of milk ready?

Muse Silk Paintings preferred

SILK QUALITIES

1.HABOTAI - Otherwise known as "China silk" is like the chocolate mousse of silks. The most economic base I work with, and like mousse, is smooth, flat, opaque and yummy. Habotai silk is the real deal, and just hits the spot.

I enjoy this base for painting detailed line work designs and is for your modern fashionista daily wear. Perfect with jeans or to dress up a work outfit. To shop Muse habotai silks, click here.

2.GEORGETTE - this is a sheer, beautiful silk and it has a little bit of a pebbly texture to the finish. Georgette is like a Plaisir Sucre with its light layers and interesting textures.. It's such a soft and romantic look, while still being reasonably priced.

Georgette is great for abstract, watercolor designs. It is for the lady who enjoys the translucent, ultra feminine touch of color! To shop Muse georgette silks, click here.

3.CREPE DE CHINE - sniff... do I smell a little more decadence in the air? Just a gorgeous fabric! Crepe de chine is like an fancy mousse with those extra flavors and toppings added in. Similar to habotai, except a softer, silkier, feeling with an understated shine. Drapes beautifully and my favorite to paint! To shop Muse crepe de chine silks, click here.

4.SAND-WASHED CREPE DE CHINE - Makes me melt. A heavier crepe fabric is washed with stones or rocks to achieve the most plush and ever-so-soft feel. It has a gorgeous drape, and is really something special. Enter The Chocolate Pistachio Kiss, a rich, irresistible morsel. The buttery nut toppings remind me of how luscious the sand washed crepe feels against my skin. The cocoa powder emulates the sumptuous matte finish of this silk. For the woman who wants nothing less than the creme de la creme, this is it! To shop Muse sand washed silks, click here.

5.CHARMEUSE - Aside from velvet, this is the most high end and luxurious silk. One side sleek like satin with lustrous shine, and the other side has a matte finish. I adore charmeuse for painting watercolors and "free" designs. Vibrancy of color is amplified by the magnificent luster of this silk. Like the famed Platinum Cake, which is literally laced with edible gold flecks. Charmeuse silk is for the elegant, illuminating lady of the hour who is not afraid to shine! To shop Muse charmeuse silks, click here.

5.SATIN BURNOUT - Also called "devore" is a blend of silk and rayon and comes in a variety of patterns. The scarf example here is a dot design, with a swirly dot imagery painted on top. Silk burnout is right up there with the finest of silks. Like assorted chocolate truffles, this base offers something different; a unique and special texture. It's mix of matte and opulence creates several shades of light and dark within hue and gives you just enough of a glamourous shine. So pretty! To shop Muse dot burnout silks, click here.

Now that this deliciously lesson is over, I suggest you go grab a chocolate treat, a glass of milk, and muse over which color and type of yummy silk suits you best . After all, you deserve a little indulgence once in a while!

Silk Georgette vs. yours truly

"Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?" That is what the paint seems to say to me as soon as I brush it onto georgette and lift the tip off of the silk.  The color is soaked up like a sponge, and while very beautiful, absolutely refuses to budge another inch. And the battle of painting on georgette has begun.  Unlike silk habotai or charmeuse, which allow the paints to simply run and flow so fluidly, painting on georgette is quite the challenge! It takes twice the amount of paint, and a whole lot of patience. 

From my traditional fine art education, I was taught to never let any white of the canvas show through. Well, I am sorry, to all my former art teachers, but for these georgette silk paintings, I am just going to have to leave some white showing through because I could not, for the life of me, cover every inch without ending up with quite a few more grey hairs!

But despite my frustrations, the final result, of a hand painted, sheer silk piece is of course very rewarding.  I love how translucent it is, and how all the colors become naturally lighter and darker in the sunlight and shadows, even more sensitive to the changing light than the more opaque silks..  Today is the day before my birthday, so in completing four silk georgette pieces this wonderful afternoon, the satisfying feeling of accomplishment I now bask in is my early present to myself. Happy Birthday to me, and Georgette, this isn't over yet between us!

origins

Welcome to Muse!  I am delighted to have this space to reflect and share my intimate (behind the scenes) experience of silk painting.  Please continue check in periodically for regular updates on new pieces, stories of the trials and tribulations of the creative process, and of course for any news of upcoming Muse events.

A brief back story...

Anyone who knows me knows I'm completely obsessed with patterns. They are everywhere I look...  in the tiles on the floor beneath my toes in the morning, in the glowing street lights showing the way home at night, and don't even get me started with nature. Well, I suppose I'll start a little! Butterfly wings, tree bark, petals, skins, rock textures, water, the ethereal mixes of radiant colored sunsets streaking with glowing clouds... sigh... however I digress.

From patterns to painting... 

Although silk painting is an ancient practice originating in China thousands of years ago, it was a new experience for me when I decided to take a class for the first time. Incredible. First there were the resist lines.  Of course I became wonderfully lost in infinite variations of line work patterns ideas.  Then, after painting the open areas in and watching the vivid french dyes flow from my sumi brush spread across the silk, I simply couldn't get enough. My fascination with pattern, fabric, and fine art could finally all be expressed in combined harmony. It was an exhilarating moment!

And we're off...

So in the spirit of new beginnings, I am sharing today a picture of the first silk scarf I painted. It's named "Celestial Dance" due to the whimsical "dancing" of the sunset colors and stylized winds around the sun. It is a 22" square on silk habotai and it gracefully travels with me everywhere wrapped and coiled around my purse handle.  The colors look pretty against the white leather...

"Celestial Dance" has a special value to me as it represents my personal beginning to my ventures in silk painting. Funny how something so seemingly unsubstantial can make me positively glow inside.  "Cheers" to special treasures, "aha" moments, and to future musings!