First scarves are exciting, but they can also be frustrating. Resist may drip, or even explode, accidentally onto fabric. Your hands may cramp and tire from squeezing resist out of bottles. Dye sneaks past resist barriers, infiltrating areas you intended for a different color. It's here the materials just might trick you into giving up. 

But silk painting is also an engaging, rewarding process. In fact, it can even be meditative, particularly while touching dye to silk, watching the flow of color as it spreads across the fabric. And the best part? Pulling scarves out of the steamer and seeing the final, vivid product.

Here are four first scarves from participants in a 3-day workshop I recently taught at The Drawing Studio in Tucson. These works are diverse in style, from the delicate to the bold, and reveal just how rewarding all those frustrating hours can be. Congratulations team! 

Silk painting is an uncommon medium and I'm often asked how I began. As an undergrad, I took an adjunct crafts class in my senior year. I wanted to take pottery, actually, but since that class was full I took the next one that sounded interesting. After less than an hour of instruction (by someone who was not a silk painter), I was left to my own devices. This turned out to be a good thing. The process of experimenting with dye and resist captivated me. I spent every spare moment in the crafts room teaching myself how to silk paint. 

Eventually, I bought my own starter kit and continued tinkering around with silk painting well after graduation. What you see today is the result of hours of trial and error. To this day I'm learning new techniques.

​Silk painting, an endlessly fascinating medium. Each day is a new discovery, and this is what keeps me hooked. 

Two of my first scarves: