Featured Artist : Suzanne McNeill | Creative Dyeing for Fabric Arts

The whole process of dyeing silk with Sharpie markers is so exciting. When I add the magic ingredient, it is exciting to watch the colorful inks run, blend, and bleed, creating unexpected and beautiful explosions of color. Instead of standing at a table with dye colors in messy pots, I can relax in a favorite chair and watch TV. I simply clip a piece of silk to a lapboard, then use Sharpie markers to draw directly on the silk. Before going to bed at night, I add the magic ingredient - rubbing alcohol from the drug store. When I get up in the morning, I have a delightful surprise.

I enjoy experimenting with different techniques - shibori, rubber bands, baking powder, corn starch, salt, stamps and combs. Over 40 tempting recipes for making different patterns on silk are all in my book, Creative Dyeing for Fabric Arts. Every technique and project is unique and exciting, and I show you how to do everything in the book. My favorite projects include large silk paintings done on Dupioni Silk, stitched collages, quilts, postcards, and fabulous silk scarves.

You can see more of my work in Creative Dyeing for Fabric Arts (available from Dharma Trading) and other books published by Design Originals (d-originals.com). 

Visit me at blog.suzannemcneill.com.