Painting "silk on silk" - a description of the technique, interesting ideas and reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Needlework is back in fashion today. Many girls prefer to sit at home on winter evenings, watch TV shows and cross-stitch. But such an occupation is rather primitive and of little interest. Cross stitching according to the pattern is not an art, it is a craft. It is quite another thing to embroider pictures with silk on silk. How to learn it, the main features of the technique and much more you will learn from this article.

History of the Art of Silk Embroidery

Many people know that Chinese things used to be worth their weight in gold. It is not surprising, because the art of silk embroidery originated in this country. During the Three Kingdoms era, Emperor Sun Quan ordered his subordinates to make him a realistic Map of the Realms. Mountains, rivers and the main buildings of the state were supposed to be reflected on this canvas. The work was delicate, and the girls had to show ingenuity. The picture was embroidered on silk, silk threads. The needles were thickhair. The silk-on-silk painting turned out wonderful, and the craftswomen received honors from the emperor.

This art continues to develop to this day. Currently, there are 4 schools named after the provinces where they originated: Jiangsu, Guangdong, Sichuan and Hunan.

Vietnamese Art

The secrets of Chinese craftswomen reached Europe only in the 20th century. But despite this, the whole world knows about the "silk on silk" paintings today. This art was especially widespread in Vietnam. It came to this country from China and became national.

Vietnamese Ambassador Bui Cong Han became the man who brought the art of embroidery to his homeland. He taught this skill to the girls in his village. Over time, the style of Chinese embroidery spread throughout Vietnam. Silk paintings began to transform and acquire their own unique features. Today, such works of art are valued no less than Chinese embroidery.

Who makes paintings today? Among the girls of Vietnam, the profession of an embroiderer is very prestigious. This is even considering the fact that the term of work in the production of one woman does not exceed 10 years.

During this time, the embroiderer loses her sight so much that she becomes unsuitable for work. But the result of the creativity of these women, who give their he alth for the sake of art, pleases people around the world.

Required tools and materials

In order to make a picture with silk on silk, you need to prepare everything you need. And what, in fact,do craftswomen use in their work?

1. Very thin needles. They pass through silk and do not leave marks in the fabric. As you know, the craftswoman does not have a second attempt, she must immediately decide on the position of the needle. Piercing the fabric in one place several times will not work.
2. Silk threads. So that they do not delaminate and do not get confused in the process of work, craftswomen cook them together with the fruits of honey locust. Next, the resulting material should be dried, after which it can be used.
3. Thin scissors. Despite the fact that in most Chinese and Vietnamese paintings the knots are hidden on the front side, needlewomen still need scissors often.
4. Hoop or machine. In order to be comfortable to embroider, the fabric must be stretched. It is simply impossible to do this without special tools.

How is this technique different from regular stitching?

Embroidering pictures with silk is a difficult and painstaking task. The main difference from the Russian surface lies precisely in technology. Our local craftswomen do not attach much importance to the wrong side of the canvas, while Chinese embroiderers are used to hiding knots on the front. They manage to do it so skillfully that over time the girls began to create double-sided paintings. Looking at such a masterpiece, it's hard to tell where the picture has a face and where is the wrong side.

Another difference between our stitch and the embroidery of Chinese craftswomen is the stitch size. Domestic embroiderers use different lengths as one of the stylistic devices. In Chinese paintings, the stitches lie so tightly that it is impossibleunderstand where one ends and the other begins.

And, of course, it is worth noting that our domestic craftswomen embroider with floss threads, and Chinese girls rarely recognize anything other than silk.

Embroidery technique

As we already know, there are 4 main Chinese schools of embroidery. Each of them has its own style, now let's talk about it:

• Su School. Craftswomen working in this technique are distinguished by patience. And how could it be otherwise, if every day you have to divide a thin silk thread into even thinner ones. But when the stitches fall on the canvas, an interesting visual effect is created. The eye does not notice the transitions from one color to another, it seems that the picture is painted in watercolor. It was this school that became the ancestor of double-sided embroidery.
• School Xiang. In this school of embroidery, unlike others, shadows are often used. They are laid on the figures of animals, birds, and even found in landscapes. This is not typical for Chinese embroidery. Craftswomen do not lay the stitches evenly, but in a chaotic manner. This gives life to the work, and the image is more realistic.
• School Yu. The main theme for the creativity of embroiderers working in this technique is dragons and birds. Craftswomen often use gold and silver threads.
• Shu school. Craftswomen of this school adhere to pastel shades in embroidery. The color of the threads echoes the color of the background, and the pattern is very delicate and light. Stitches are laid evenly and smoothly.

What becomes the subjects of the paintings?

Many craftswomen who embroider to order do not come up with the themes of their work themselves. Chinese paintings on silk sometimes seem too similar. This is due to the fact that the embroidered canvases have the same theme. It is always symbolic. Here is a list of the most popular embroidery themes.

1. Fish in Chinese mythology is considered a symbol of success.
2. Lotus flowers represent loy alty and devotion.
3. Butterflies are a symbol of joy, serenity and happiness.
4. Birds represent freedom and joy.
5. Plums and peaches are a symbol of fertility.

You can learn to embroider at any age

As you know, there are no barriers to creativity. But to master the art of Chinese embroidery, girls need at least 5 years. And this is given the fact that the needlewoman will work 8 hours a day. Based on these statistics, one can imagine how much time a craftswoman needs to spend in order to achieve at least a relatively good technique. At least 10 years if she hone her skills daily.

Of course, everything will depend on the abilities of the girl. If she graduated from an art institute, or at least an art school, it will be easier for her to learn how to harmoniously distribute the stitches on the canvas.

Painting on silk

This art came to Europe from Indonesia. It was there that they first began to paint silk fabric with various dyes. For work, not only paints are used, but also a reserve - a substance based on wax or resin, which does not give paintsflow into each other.

Batik is the official name for silk painting. Paintings are made in two main techniques: cold and hot. Painting with silk cut paints is considered a cold technique. But when the work is done in layers and a wax coating is applied, this technology is called hot batik. Paintings on silk with paints became popular in Europe only in the 20th century.

Printing on silk

Today, in the digital age, it's hard to imagine how art managed to survive. Many artists have traded brushes and paints for graphic tablets. Therefore, it is not surprising that every year the printing of paintings on silk is becoming more and more popular. People like clean lines and well-detailed drawings. It is simply impossible to achieve a similar effect in batik.

You can get a high quality image in embroidery. But the craftswoman spends a year to create one work. During this time, the printer can print millions of pictures. It is clear that digital creativity is valued many times cheaper than applied art. Therefore, absolutely anyone can afford pictures printed on silk.

What is the future of silk paintings?

It would seem that with the development of factories, manual creativity should have died completely. But this did not happen. Every year there are more and more people who are engaged in various types of needlework. Many, judging by the reviews, are attracted by the exclusivity of products, and some find pleasure in the verymanufacturing process.

Paintings embroidered with silk will definitely be popular for more than one century. It may take longer, but we can't say for sure. But the pictures of digital format, if you believe the enthusiastic responses, a bright future. They will always be printed, because it is fast and cheap.

It is these values that today guide most people who purchase decor for their interior.