silk for atlanta

This silk artwork was commissioned by a private party as a gift to the Village Church of Dunwoody near Atlanta Georgia. It was completed and shipped in December 2011. On April 28, 2012 this large silk triptych was unfurled, seen for the first time by the leadership of the Village Church of Dunwoody. Then on Sunday, October 14, 2012 the silk was revealed to the entire community. It was very well-received.

site and symbolism

The Village Church website has posted the artwork and a detailed description including a video of the unveiling.

finished silk

Here are photos of the finished silk artwork. It measures about twelve feet high (center panel) by twelve feet wide. The stand in the photo is not the final installation support structure.

Too tall to display adequately in my home-studio, here is the silk photographed outside in December.
It glows even in overcast late-afternoon winter light.

No, the silk is not quilted. It is single-layer 100% silk habotai, dye-painted with water-based Jacquard dyes and set by steam.

Here the silk colors show brilliantly with back-lighting.

Notice that the silk is lifted in the slightest movement of air.

This is actually version II of this design. The first completed version was damaged in a steaming accident. Somehow, the second version turned out artfully different...perhaps better. While waiting required a bit of patience, the result became a beautiful upgrade. Bonus: And even the damaged version (1.0) has been salvaged and is currently displayed in Tenino, Washington. Different in style, rustic in it's damaged state; it is a perfect fit for the Tenino venue - a remodeled barn used for eclectic musical gatherings.

studies

A small-scale version was created to investigate colors and forms.
Note the intentional design harmony with the commissioner's logo imagery and warm color palette.

Dyes move beautifully through silk creating an illusion of ripening fruit.

Notice the background and foreground colors changed between this study and the final image. The damaged silk painting now displayed in Tenino looks more similar to the original study here below. The original study below was purchased for display in Vancouver, Washington.