Understanding the Serti Method for Silk Art

There are a number of different techniques for painting on silk. I first learned the “Serti” or French REsist method back in 2002 at a class at the hospital i worked for. The serti method uses a tube or bottle of gutta resist to trace lines, much like a coloring book outline. The silk is stretched on a frame when the resist is dry, and painting begins. I was taught to use a pencil first, with the silk stretched on a frame, and draw your design, then apply the gutta. But I changed that process. I lay down the drawing on a table, and tape down the silk piece over it, then basically trace the pattern onto the silk. The silk allows the drawing to be visible through the fabric. Here is a quick video

The silk is then stretched out on a frame. I use pvc pipes and elbows to create my frames, and utilize rubber band and safety pins. There are a number of methods to hold the silk on the frame, but this works well for me. Silk is very thirsty – as you paint the silk wants the paint to spread until it reached the gutta.

Once the scarf is completely painted, and dry i roll it up in newspaper and steam the silk for an hour. Steaming sets the color and fuses the resist to the silk.