Tired of searching for the perfect silk throw pillow to accent your plush new Pottery Barn sofa? Rather than spend your hard-earned dollars on a sub par accessory, why not make it yourself? Master silk painter and Hoboken resident Sissi Siska is holding basic silk painting classes at BAMA Gallery (946 Bloomfield St., Hoboken) on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March, 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Siska will teach attendees how to complete hand painted creations on silk, from scarves to pillows to tapestries.
"It’s very Zen-like," Siska said recently, "because when you put the dye on silk it runs. It’s like if you spill grape juice on a paper towel – it runs. In the workshop we’re learning how to control this bleeding. To create barriers so you can make patterns and shapes."
Specifically, the workshop will focus on basic outlining, watercolor blending and salt effects, "which make the dyes disperse in all of these weird directions," said Siska.
Sissi Siska has been designing fabrics for over 20 years. From Perry Ellis to Ralph Lauren, her patterns have adorned apparel by some of fashion’s top designers. Her hand-painted silks have also appeared in Broadway shows like Steel Piers and The Red Shoes, and Disney on Ice’s production of the Lion King.
Over the years, Siska’s work has won her several prestigious awards, including the textile industry’s illustrious Tommy Award and two Merit Awards from the Guild American Craft Competition. In 1995, she was named Woman of the Year by the Hoboken Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women, and in 1997 she received a HART Award at the Hudson Artists Recognition Tribute. Her work – which tends to be tropical in theme – has been exhibited locally at the CASE Museum, Park Pastries, Garage Gallery, Grace Church Van Vorst, the 111 First St., Community Gallery and Maxwell’s.
According to Siska, the medium lends itself to her bright, tropical designs.
"The nature of this medium is that you can make these really incredible colors," she explained. "No other medium will give you the intensity. It gives you a brilliance that nothing else gives you. I sell a lot of swimwear, as you can imagine. And a lot of men’s cabana shirts."
After years creating designs for other people’s apparel, Siska, who studied illustration at Fashion Institute of Technology, decided to make her own items.
"I was always interested in sewing," she said. "And I always wanted to make something of my own. I found a place that was doing designs on silk. Twenty years ago, [silk design] was a big secret in this country."
This weekend, Siska will impart that knowledge on a new crop of silk painters. The two-day workshop costs $175 and includes both silks and dyes. No previous art experience is necessary. For more information call (201) 659-5623. q