Books BortonHelen BortonKay Aker'SAker'S PhotosVintage Let'SExplore KayUploaded 349Century GraphicBooks IllustratorsForwardHelen Borten Do you See What I See? 1959 by Kay Aker, via FlickrSherri is so talented that she always keeps me smiling! "You Dig My New Horseshoes" Sherri LemireLunar Mystery Scarf – with cutch, indigo, blackberry leaves, coreopsis, cotinus coggygria leaves and marigold petals on flat crepe silk – SOLD. During the autumn months of 2015 I created a collection of silk scarves using layerings of ecoprints, botanical dyes and resist dye techniques. As an artist with a background in painting and printmaking I have always enjoyed complex layerings of colour and texture.  I have been observing within the ‘ecoprint’ community that there seems to be a preference for exact detail of the leaves and other botanical material. In my opinion this is often at the expense of the subtle nuances of colour that ecoprinting can offer. I think this is due to an overuse of iron as a mordant.

While iron does bring out details it also saddens and darkens colour. Iron can also affect the integrity of silk and can leave it duller and less ‘silky’. absolute zero velvet blackout home theater curtain panelsI always use alum as a mordant and I sometimes use iron in small amounts. flamenco shower curtain ebayMy interest lies more in the painterly and playful effects of layered colour and texture and the infinite nuances of colour from botanical dyes and ecoprints than in reproducing the leaves exactly.blinds & curtains megastore amazon Where some may find the yellows and golds unwanted in the scarf below, I find it beautiful. ikea curtains kajsa

Not using iron allows the golds and rusts of the coreopsis and the pale lilac blues of the cotinus to flourish. curtain falls blue testo e traduzioneWhere the warm and cold colours meet are an infinite variety of subtle greens.eclipse samara blackout energy-efficient curtain 42 x 54 Cotinus leaves and Coreopsis silk scarf – with cutch, cotinus and coreopsis on flat creper silk scarf – SOLDknights curtains lowestoft On the subject of painting, during my recent show “Botanical” I had the pleasure of showing my work with the lovely miniature botanical paintings of artist Nadine Stefan. We decided to do this after noticing how our work complemented each other.

It was so rewarding for us to see our work displayed together in this way. We had an almost sellout show! “Botanical” – Hidden Garden Gallery, New Denver, BC, Dec, 2015 Nadine Stefan miniature paintings in “Botanical” Nadine Stefan is an artist who works in a wide variety of media. Check out her website here: Nadine Stefan Here are a few more pieces from my collection  – some have sold and others I have made available for purchase in my online gallery  – Those still available appear first in my products, and following those I have left some of the sold ones for you to view. Wine and Gold scarf – with cochineal, madder, cotinus coggygria leaves (smokebush), coreopsis leaves and flower buds, and sumac leaves on flat crepe silk scarf – SOLD Moon and Leaves silk scarf –  with leaves of maple, birch and cotinus coggygria ecoprints with cutch, brazilwood and indigo on crepe de chine Blue green and gold ecoprints and itajime silk scarf – with madder, coreopsis, cotinus coggygria, maple and indigo on crepe de chine.

Botanical Dream silk scarf – with black tea, coreopsis, cotinus coggygria and maple leaves on flat crepe silk – SOLD Landscape Illusion scarf – with black tea, cotinus coggygria leaves, coreopsis flowers, sumac leaves and indigo on medium weight silk habotai Blue and Brown ecoprint and botanical dye silk scarf – with maple leaves, marigold and cotinus coggygria ecoprints with cutch, black tea and indigo on silk chiffon Mother of Pearl and Flowers silk scarf – with black tea, brazilwood, coreopsis, cotinus coggygria leaves, indigo on sheer lightweight silk habotai Late September Garden silk scarf with cochineal, coreopsis flowers, Japanese maple leaves and cotinus coggygria (smokebush) leaves on crepe de chine – SOLD I wanted to extend a sincere thank you to all those of you who supported our show “Botanical”, both locally and afar. Also, many thanks to all of those who have emailed me recently with your kind words of encouragement – I appreciate you all very much.