MaryJane Davidson

I have always been interested in Art, if I wasn't drawing horses or dogs then I was making new dresses for my Barbies. Art is in my blood, I am the youngest of 10 children and all of us have artistic tendencies, we learned from our mom. While visiting my oldest sister up in Canada, she is a well known artist there, she started talking about a new thing that she had learned...painting or dyeing on silk. I was hooked!!
Since then I've started selling my scarves at Juried Art shows, Craft Fairs and Etsy.

Process

All scarves and garments are individually hand-painted on 100 percent silk. I paint on white silk that I purchase on line, my silk scarves are already hand-rolled.
First I stretch the silk on a special frame that has adjustable panels, that have special pin hooks that hold the silk tight. I use a combination of techniques to create my scarves, from a fluid watercolor method to a more controlled resist technique.
Using a watercolor brush, I paint on the silk using silk dyes by Jacquard green and red label, dyes are diluted with a solution of water and isopropyl alcohol to obtain lighter pastel tones. When the dye is applied to untreated silk it will run and spread in beautiful but unpredictable ways. Sometimes I sprinkle salt or alcohol onto the wet dyes to create star-burst effects after the dye dries.
But gaining real control, when I need it, requires the use of a resist of some sort to either create a linear barrier or simply restrict the flow of dye within the silk. A common characteristic of silk painting is the use of a gutta line to delineate areas of color, which sometimes gives an almost mosaic effect. Gutta is a latex-like substance and is diluted with a solvent. I gain more control when I pour the gutta into an applicator with a pipette with a nib of a size suitable for the width of line required. Then I draw my lines on the silk the same way you might use a pen, making a barrier in the fabric that the dye cannot pass. This process is the known as the Serti technique, or faux batik, and I create many of my most complex designs this way. I will also use soy wax as a resist, unlike the gutta I have to iron the wax off before steaming.
All scarves and hand-painted garments are colorfast:
After a piece is complete, I steam-set it at home. To prepare for steaming, I roll each scarf in layers of fabric and steam them in a pot for one to three hours. Afterward, I wash the scarves by hand. Dry cleaning removes the gutta from the silk.
All my scarves can be washed by hand in cold water using a mild soap, like dish washing liquid or a small drop of shampoo.