Silk-Painted Plants: A Fabric Art Exhibit
Welcome to Silk Painted Plants, an online exhibit through December 2021!
This collection features flora and fauna local to the Sonoran Desert in and around Tucson, Arizona.
Click here for more information on the process of silk painting!
This collection features flora and fauna local to the Sonoran Desert in and around Tucson, Arizona.
Click here for more information on the process of silk painting!
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The sun sets over the Sonoran Desert, dazzling the landscape with luminous colors. Plants: Saguaro and two types of agave commonly used in landscaping: artichoke agave (left), agave weberi (right) Inspired by the landscaping outside my first home in Tucson, apartments just south of the University of Arizona. A jackrabbit tentatively steps out onto the landscape. The sky is purple after a refreshing rain. Plants: Velvet mesquite tree, Santa Rita prickly pear (purple), and agave Inspired by the landscape of Saguaro National Park East, a wonderful place to hike, with plenty of easy and fairly flat trails. A great spot for jackrabbits! An otherwise dry and arid wash fills with rushing water during a monsoon rain. Plants: century plant (including one which is flowering atop a rock to the left), saguaros at the top of the canyon, mesquite tree just right of center. Inspired by Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, where the wash occasionally fills with water. A great place to take a refreshing dip if the water is present! Flowering indian fig (opuntia ficus-indica), a towering prickly pear that appears spineless and gives forth beautiful red to yellow flowers! Coatimundi are mammals related to raccoons. The females travel together, while males are mostly solitary. Plants: Alligator Juniper tree, yucca (spiky plants sprinkled all across the painting) Inspired by one of my favorite hiking locations, Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. There, you will find trails through high desert grassland, juniper woodlands, and even pine forests at the higher elevations! The Sonoran Desert radiates with extreme heat in the summer, with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This time of year, most people in Tucson prefer to stay indoors and avoid heat exhaustion, but if you can make it out briefly and safely for a sunrise or a sunset, the hot desert can be a surreal experience with its own otherworldly beauty. Plants: Saguaro, prickly pear, barrel cactus, agave Leaf of the Arizona sycamore: a tall white-barked tree partial to riparian areas in southeast Arizona. Leaf of the Gambel Oak, a large shrub found in the upper elevations of southeast Arizona's mountainous areas, including the Catalina Mountains immediately outside Tucson. A stylized Gambel's Quail struts across a whimsical silk-painted landscape alive with patterns. Inspired by the designs and styles of Talavera pottery. Plants: Prickly Pear, Agave, and blanketflower (red and yellow) A javelina and her baby walk across the desert. Javelina are pig-like mammals found in the Sonoran Desert. Inspired by the designs and styles of Talavera pottery, which often features one shape decorated with more shapes (the way in which this javelina is decorated inside with flowers and designs). Plants: Indian fig (a tall prickly pear), blanketflower (red and yellow), red yucca or hummingbird yucca (left), desert marigolds (lower right). |
Thank you for viewing this exhibit!
If you liked some of these silk paintings, you can find reproductions of some of these designs as postcards and greeting cards at Antigone Books (411 N 4th Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705) or Bookman's East (6230 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85712)
You can also buy cards, prints, and hand-painted silk scarves at my Etsy site.
If you'd like to learn how to silk paint, click here for more information!
If you liked some of these silk paintings, you can find reproductions of some of these designs as postcards and greeting cards at Antigone Books (411 N 4th Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705) or Bookman's East (6230 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85712)
You can also buy cards, prints, and hand-painted silk scarves at my Etsy site.
If you'd like to learn how to silk paint, click here for more information!