Out of Our Hands Gallery - fine handcrafted creations

Holly Ellis

Gallery

Artist Statement

I enjoy working in a wide variety of fibers, techniques and forms. Currently my focus is on surface design and hand painting silk. As a fiber artisan my work exists as a blurry area between art and craft. Each piece of silk is a canvas for a painting inspired by observations and experiences. Each piece is functional and takes on the moniker of craft, therefore it can be called wearable art.

The silk painting techniques I use originated in France and Japan. I work with 100% silk (crepe de chine, habotai, and chiffon), hand stitch the hems, and use top quality French fabric dyes, resists and setting agents. When working in the French serti technique, the design is drawn four times before painting begins. The Japanese technique, called shibori, is an intuitive and abstract process. Silk is bound very tightly to large poles and compressed before painting. The result is an intricate one of a kind pattern of color and shading that can never be re-created. All of the silks I create are one of a kind, hand washable and colorfast.