Lodging Museums Performances Studios Kathy Ball Studio Pieces of Enchantment Hand-painted silks by Kathy Ball. When I came from Illinois to New Mexico in 1959, I immediately fell in love with the clear blue skies, the mountains and the red-rock landscapes. That enchantment is expressed in my silk painting. I find the interplay of color, light and texture wonderfully exciting. My silk art is a uniting of fabric, color, design and drape.
Silk fibers are smooth and triangular when viewed in cross-section.
The smoothness gives silk its gloss and the spinning and weaving of silk bends the fibers, so each section becomes a tiny facet which reflects light. This jewel-like sheen of fine silk is highly prized and enhances the intensity of colors used in painting these wearable art pieces. The color comes from dyes which bond with the silk fibers, permanently coloring them, with no residue on the surface of the fabric. The dyes used are from the Sennelier Company, which has a long-established reputation for high quality dyes. These pieces are painted in the sense that I use brushes to control the application and blending of dyes within areas defined by a resist medium called gutta.