Nadja Lancelot

I work primarily on Crepe de Chine 12mm with Sennelier Tinfix dyes for my paintings. Tinfix gives the most intense color possibilities and they interact so well with products such as alcohol, urea, discharge paste and salts to create the effects that I'm looking for. In my wall art I also like to incorporate gold leaf and sometimes Lumiere for metallic reflections. For my wearable art I also use Tinfix dyes but the most luscious silk on the body is the sand washed charmeuse. It's absolutely ravishing and gorgeous and I'm in love with it for the most sensual reasons.
My dye-laden brush touches the pristine white silk and rivulets of color explode, mushroom then collide.

My canvas is silk. My medium is dye. I am enthralled; captivated by the chemical reactions that occur when I add salt or alcohol to the viscous mixture. This is a highly sensual, liquid art form. It is perfect for my temperament. The tactile element of the silk and the vibrant colors in the dyes are captivating.

I work from a place of freedom, striving to let go of the tightness that naturally takes hold when the liquid dye is set free to expand across the silk. I see the very act of painting on silk as a metaphor for release. My art is an expression of the vast array of subject matter in our natural environment. From the smallest mineral microcosm to the vastest landscape, I am moved to capture and then release it again on silk.

My training and experience comes from designing sets and costumes for theatre and film. I learned the magic of fabric dying from working in the costume shop. While I garnered a world of practical experiences in the entertainment field, I always maintained my personal creative integrity by drawing and painting the landscape surrounding me. I always came back home to Mother Earth, to the rivers and oceans or the flowers and wildlife around us. My subject matter is the natural world and sometimes I paint very close up views, to the point that, at times, my paintings become abstract. When you look very closely at a slice of stone for example, there is another galaxy to explore inside of it; a galaxy that can look like an otherworldly landscape. I get lost in those close up visions and I let the dye flow on the silk to try to capture the beauty that I see inside. Each day I find more to depict, more to represent, more to be moved by and I lay it all out on my silks.