Silk Painting

Silk Painting
 The Serti (closing or fence) technique is the silk painting technique where designs are formed with gutta or water-based resists, which are applied to white silk that has been pre-washed, dried and stretched (on a stretcher). Once the gutta or water-based resist has dried, it acts as a barrier for the dye or paint—keeping the color within the outlined areas of the design and allowing you to achieve sharply defined borders. (Without this barrier, the dye or paint would flow into more of an abstract, undefined pattern.) After the dye or paint has been properly set, the clear gutta or resist is removed and a defining line the color of the original fabric remains. Colored guttas and resists are also available that are meant to remain in the fabric.

GUTTA SERTI METHOD GUTTA is a rubber- like resist. It can be applied with a squeeze bottle with metal tip, a brush, or sponges. Try to keep your hand steady and apply smooth lines directly onto the silk. If there are any breaks in the resist, the dyes will bleed through. Make sure the gutta dries to tacky before adding dyes. It will flatten slightly and loose it's sheen when it is dry enough. Because the resist is clear, the lines you make will be the color underneath, in this case white. If you use a brush or sponge, clean immediately with turpenoid and brush cleaner.

Watercolor-like effects can be achieved by applying dye or paint to silk that has been pre-washed and put on stretcher bars whether or not you are using resists (but not if you are using stop-flow). Dyes or paints are applied to the silk with a paint brush, mist sprayer, eye dropper, or other tools to achieve abstract effects. Spraying the silk lightly with water before adding color increases the flow of the dye or paint. Sprinkling salt on the piece when still wet, and leaving till completely dry before brushing off the salt, produces interesting textural effects. Applying alcohol to dye-painted silk also creates beautiful effects.  For gutta
using even pressure and a steady hand while holding the applicator bottle vertically with the tip touching the silk, draw on your resist lines. Be sure that there are no breaks or gaps in the line (or dye or paint will escape!). Check the back side of your piece to make sure the resist has penetrated all the way through. If it hasn't, you will need to apply resist to the back side as well. (This is sometimes necessary when working on silks heavier than 12 mm. Let the resist dry (you can speed up the drying time with a blow dryer, or heat gun) before painting.

Dip your brush into the color and apply the dye or paint sparingly to the center of an outlined area by touching the brush to the silk. Let the paint move to the resist line – do not apply the paint too close to the resist (if water-based resist becomes too saturated the line may begin to dissolve!) If there is a gap in your resist line that you didn't notice and the dye or paint starts escaping, you can stop the movement by drying it quickly with a hair dryer and then patch up the line with gutta or resist and let dry before resuming. When painting large areas (e.g., background), work quickly, applying wet to wet to avoid unwanted lines.

Salt attracts moisture and will drag the dye as it dries. Apply your dyes QUICKLY. Randomly toss the salt. The silk should be very wet for the technique to work. Do not let the dyes begin to dry or you will get a line. Colors will dry lighter than they look while wet.

As salt attracts moisture, alcohol repels it. Alcohol can slow and also stop the flow of the dye. It can also be used for very subtle blending and can remove ( discharge ) controlled amounts of dye.

 Setting the color
When you have finished applying the dye or paint to the silk yardage or scarf, it's not permanent until you "set" or "fix" the color so that in the future you can wash or dry clean the piece without all the color washing out. The method of "setting" or "fixing" the color depends on the chemistry of the dye or paint you are using. Before purchasing any dye or paint, you should read the directions thoroughly to determine if the required procedure fits your project and situation.

Setting dyes with steam

Of the two methods for setting silk dyes, the steaming method produces the most brilliant colors.  During the steaming process, the heat and moisture penetrate the dyes to create a concentrated dye bath, which bonds the dyes to the silk.  

After the silks are steamed they should be rinsed with Synthrapol ( soap ) to remove any excess dye. Do not panic when you see dark dye flowing into the sink. The rinsing just removes any dye that didn't bond. Keep rinsing until the water flows clear. Towel dry and allow to dry flat.


Removing clear gutta or clear water-based resist
Once the dye or paint has been properly fixed, it's time to remove the gutta or resist. Clear gutta is removed by dry cleaning. If colored guttas have been used, do not dry clean (the color will come out with the gutta)! They are meant to leave on the silk. There will be some "hand" or "feel" on the silk. Some people prefer to use the colored guttas on wall hanging pieces only, rather than on wearable art.

Sources for more information on silk painting:

www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/17813/328

www.dharmatrading.com/silkpainting

Test #8 –Silk Painting
Using whichever technique or combination of techniques you would like, do some test samples of silk painting.  You will notice that each type of silk fabric will take the dye differently.  If you were going to use this technique on fabric for a garment you would need to do tests to make sure that the dye reacts the way you wish on that particular fabric.  The scarves we will be painting are a silk crepe.  Paint your scarf.  When dry I will take it to steam set.
            Possible techniques:             1. gutta resist outlining (clear or black)
                                                            2.  water color effects
                                                            3.  salt application
                                                            4.  alcohol application
                                                            5.  dye moving on plastic surface (tye dye or crystal effect)

Record your results and mount your samples in your technique book.