Shirley Crowell

I am Shirley Crowell, artist, woman, daughter, sister, wife, and mother. I have been an artist all of my life but didn't study art until the age of 34 when I attended art school at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where I first received a double BFA in Textiles, Metalsmithing and minor in Ceramics and completed school with my MFA in Textiles ten years total. I raised a son, five cats, a dog, a house, and worked part time too. Whew! I'm tired! At the end of my term of study of many textile techniques, i.e. handmade paper, felting, weaving, etc., I tried silk painting with the serti Gutta method using Procion H Liquid Fiber Reactive Dyes and fell in love with the medium. I began purchasing most of my supplies from Dharma back in 1985 while still in school, like solvent based Gutta, Synthrapol, GAMT ½ oz. Applicator Bottles with metal tips, dye fixatives, pins, and also silk scarves.

The silks are pre-washed with Synthrapol, rinsed, and ironed. I begin with the chemical water recipe mixing Metaphos, Ludigol, and Urea into distilled water, then adding the dyes. I cut the recipe so as not to waste dyes and place them in small glass baby food jars. I like to paint on silk Habotai 10mm but also use the Crepe de Chine and Charmeuse, utilizing mostly acrylic paint brushes. The different silks all have their own special personality and effects with the Procion H dyes which I find very vibrant in color.

I draw free hand onto the stretched silk with solvent based gutta and leave to dry for a few minutes. My designs are inspired by the tall mirrored glass buildings in the St. Louis, MO downtown area of which I took many B/W photos for future referencing. The images of architectural structures transfer reflections of ordinary buildings into flowing illusions of mutated and curiously surreal shapes, animated, sometimes having human-like personalities. My interest is pushing these images into that place between truth and fiction, a duality of mortar and glass, soft and delicate silk, an irony.

I built a steamer with stove-pipes, a bamboo steam rack, and a wok (similar to the one described in Susan Moyer's book - I have referenced Susan's book, for many of her tips and techniques). I altered the steamer a bit to fit my own use. After resting for 24 hours, the finished painted silk is then rolled in a piece of pre-washed, unbleached 100% cotton painting canvas, hung in the center, and steamed for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Unrolled and left to air dry for another 24 hours, it is rinsed with cool water gradually raised to hot water, Synthrapol added to soak for about 10 minutes and rinsed in vinegar water to clear water. To clean out the gutta, one can have it dry cleaned, use a cleaning fluid of Afta or soak it in paint thinner until the gutta is loosened, this is what I use.

I have sold my silk scarves framed, as wearables, and made framed color prints from them. I now sell on Etsy.com, which is a very popular place for artists and crafters. I am proud to be affiliated with Dharma Trading, they stand behind their products, the instruction pages are above and beyond, and their support and staff are excellent! When I taught art classes I handed out catalogs to all of my students, and highly recommended their products.