005 How to Paint on Silk Podcast
Hi, this is Episode 005 How to Paint on Silk Podcast, with me — Teena Hughes from Howtopaintonsilk.com — welcome!
Today I want to talk to you about a really interesting problem that someone has.
It’s a health issue and it restricts them from painting as much as they’d like. So I won’t go into all of the details, but I’ll give you some information from this delightful lady who says that she has a health issue and she dreams of having the energy to get back to silk painting.
Listen here to the podcast:
Health problems, bad back, trouble sitting and walking
This gorgeous artist loves how the colours have a life of their own and are so luminescent, and she really believes that art can heal – and she has a deep desire and need to be immersed in art.
In many ways, it’s all about colour, and that’s what first attracted her to my work. Oh, so that’s lovely. Thank you very much for saying that. xoxox
Do you have difficulty with sitting, standing and walking?
Hopefully she will pick up her brush again soon. So when I asked her what the actual problems were, she was able to explain that the obstacles are fatigue, getting tired and a neurological damage somewhere along the line. One of her nerves has been damaged so she can’t sit for too long – and even standing and walking create issues of their own.
Above: working towards building strength in the hands, wrists and arms for silk artists
Being unable to complete a Silk Project has become very frustrating
So the biggest problem is that she’s unable to start work on a project and go through and finish it all in one session.
And she asks me if that’s a problem – “Is it okay to go back and do something later, even though it can sometimes be weeks between finishing one particular project?”
And my answer to that is, hey, no, you can take as long as you like, as long as you’re not trying to blend colours from one that was dry already a couple of weeks ago.
Then there’s nothing wrong with taking as long as you like to complete a project. And I came up with a suggestion that might help her and also other people who have difficulties or disabilities. Now I’m thinking you could have just a small project, nothing large. You don’t want to aim for a large piece of silk, but just start with something easy to finish, perhaps in one day. For example, first thing in the morning is a very good idea, before you get too tired to perhaps start something.
Each session could be a one day or if you’re able to do more, that could be good too. Whatever works for you. So here are some notes that I made that you might find interesting.
Preparing the Silk
In session one I’ve suggested you could prepare the silk. If it’s easy, attach the silk to a frame. If you have trouble with your hands or gripping and it’s not so easy, perhaps you could use an embroidery hoop on a piece of silk to keep it taut, to keep it straight. You can also use masking tape if you’re able to manage that, if someone can help you.
Gather dyes and other tools
In session two, which could be the same day or another day, I’ve suggested that you set up some dyes and eyedroppers (if you use them) to mix your dyes, and perhaps a small packet of rock salt — and if there’s a problem with the hands and holding a Gutta bottle might not be even doable, so I’ve left that out of this picture.
Start with something simple, and without Gutta or Outliner
In Session three I have suggested that it’s a good idea to not plan a picture or something that is specific. Allow yourself to be like a little kid like you’re playing and experimenting with one eye dropper. Squeeze into one dye color until the eye dropper has dye in it. And then make gentle, tiny squirts close to the silk so they don’t splash and allow the dye to spread on the silk While the dye’s wet, shake rock salt directly onto some of that wet dyed silk.
Using Rock Silk on the the first Silk Dye colour – let the salt work hard so you don’t have to 🙂
And if you’re able to put some rock salt in your palm and sprinkle it directly. If you’re not able to hold the salt in your hands, that’s okay, you can leave that little bit out. This process only takes a few minutes, then you can leave that to dry overnight or you can keep going. With the salt though, if you do leave it overnight, you give the salt longer to work while the dye is wet, which is a good idea to get some of those really vibrant results.
Using more colours and more eyedroppers
Now I’ve suggested for session four – with a different eyedropper – collect a different dye color in the eyedropper. Gently squeeze it close to the silk and make some more drops of different sizes. Add more rock salt if you like, and then you can also leave that overnight or until later in the day when the dye is dry.
Turning the embroidery hoop to make silk painting easier
And then for session five, I’ve suggested if you need to move the embroidery hoop to another section of the silk, make sure the silk is dry, shake the rock salt off and you can do that onto some paper on your table or into a bin if you’ve got one handy and and then repeat the process.
Try this simple silk painting process if you don’t have strength in your hands or mobility problems with your arms and hands
Now this is a very, very simple way to do a bit of silk painting when you don’t have the full strength in your heart arms. Perhaps or you can’t sit for too long and if you do need to stand up and make sure you’re very comfortable standing on something comfortable, perhaps a mat of some kind and that you don’t have to stretch if your back hurts or your arms or your spine hurts in any way.
Were you able to try this?
So I’d love to hear from any of you if you give this a go. Now I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who may be hindered in ways I haven’t even considered. So if any of you do have a particular problem and you’re not sure how to go about painting on silk because of this particular disability, let me know. Send me an email via my website on the contact page.
Click on the link that says Contact. Or if you go to how-to-paint-on-silk.com on the right-hand side of the screen, you’ll see a bright pink marker down the right hand side, like a very large button I guess that says you can “send me a voicemail”. So if you have trouble typing, you can actually speak message to me, and I will get that straight away. So that would be terrific.
And I just wanted to say thank you because you have encouraged me to think outside the box of what I knew I normally do and to come up with a way to help others who might not be able to move in the same way as the rest of us with your limbs or whatever. So I hope this might help some other people out there who are listening and if so, please do contact me. I’d love to hear from you with your questions, suggestions and yes — if you do have suggestions, everyone has a great idea of some kind that might help someone else, so please do let me know.
Okay, this is Teena saying cheerio for now. This is the end of podcast number five and I look forward to talking to you in the next podcast! Bye Bye for now. Cheers!
Easing back problems with silk painting
In the past, I’ve ended up hurting my back on quite a few occasions when painting on silk by remaining standing.
I would reach across to paint, and I would also turn the frame (whenever possible) to reach the other side of the silk.
As I was painting metres (yards) of silk at a time, it became exhausting and back-breaking.
To ease the problem I ended up painting smaller amounts of silk rather than long lengths, and by making sure I could easily walk around the frame. It was necessary for me to stop reaching across the silk to paint, as the stretching for long periods of time was giving me grief.
By tackling smaller pieces of silk (scarves, cushion covers etc) and SITTING DOWN when painting, I was able to give my back time to heal.
Questions about Episode 005 How to Paint on Silk Podcast?
Got any questions? Have you had any experiences like this? Please feel free to share — we all learn from others’ experiences — but please know that your comment can be anonymous so no-one knows who you are.
Or maybe you’d prefer to:
Have a gorgeous day, hugs all round xox
Teena Hughes
Today’s video is 005 How to Paint on Silk Podcast, and I’m ready to start making more!
This video below is one of my delightful silk students (Pru) from a few years back — it was her first day of silk painting and she was amazed at what she’d created! I love that look on the students’ faces when they realise they CAN do this! Woohoo!
