Elissa Wellikson

During a long career as an attorney, Elissa Wellikson found a variety of outlets for her creative talents, including oil painting, watercolors, clay, wood, metal, fabric and even writing a novel, always drawing on her experiences and unique view of the world for inspiration.

In 2004 she took a single lesson in silk painting and was immediately hooked. Elissa started with Jacquard Green Label dyes and Jacquard gutta and Metallics water based resists, applied with gutta applicator bottles with metal tips. At first, she was using Jacquard Dyeset fixative, but with the advice on the Dharma website and encouragement for other silk artists, Elissa built a stove top steamer. She was then ready, as her skill improved and her designs expanded, to use Jacquard Red Label dyes, which provide very vivid results.

Elissa creates hand painted silk scarves, shawls, and ties in a variety of original designs, colors, and sizes. She also creates hand painted silk tallit (prayer shawls), challah covers, and matza covers. Her designs include representational images (flowers, animals, insects, plants, skylines, figures, landscapes) and geometric designs.

Elissa sells her work under the name "Scarves by Elissa" at street fairs, gift shops, wineries around Silicon Valley in northern California, through home shows, and on the web. Visit her website at www.kh6n.com/elissa, where you can contact her directly.