Mary Northrup

I have been strongly drawn to silk as an artistic medium since first seeing the magic of dyes flowing over stretched silk at a workshop held in Largo, FL, in 1986. I don't remember the name of the instructor, but I certainly remember the awe I first felt when seeing such beauty flow from my own brush. I also remember the instructor stating, "You can get all your needed supplies, and then some, from Dharma Trading."

My skills and artistry have grown and evolved over the years, incorporating the glorious colors and motifs of nature, employing gutta serti, watercolor, and many other techniques I have learned along the way. Many techniques I have learned entirely by "happy accident!"

"Dolce' Vita Silks," my studio, is located in an 1870's vintage home, which my fiance', David, and I are happily renovating.

My work was the subject of a featured article in the Jan/Feb 2007 edition of Belle Armoire Magazine. This was a very exciting and surprising development for me!

In my "other" life, I am the school nurse at Enfield Elementary School, for the Ithaca City School District in NY. For an after school enrichment program, I teach aspiring artists of grades 3, 4, and 5 the joy of witnessing the beautiful flow of color from their brushes onto silk.

In these examples of my work, I used Tinfix, Dupont, and occasionally Jacquard steamfix dyes, with Dupont and Jacquard brand solvent based guttas. Of course, for teaching children, I use the nontoxic watercolor-based resists and ironfix silk paints. As I have dealt with Dharma Trading no matter where in the country I have lived since 1986, all products used here, and answers to many of my calls for help, have been from the wonderful Dharma products and staff.

My e-mail is: artistyc1@aol.com Studio phone number is (607) 594-2493