Posted on

12th Anniversary Traditional Gift

12th Anniversary Traditional Gift

Are you looking for a 12th Anniversary Traditional Gift? Traditionally gifts for a 12th wedding anniversary are made from silk. This luxury fabric represents the security and comfy felt after 12 years of wedded bliss. In addition to my original silk paintings and giclee prints, I am excited to be able to offer a range of silk jewellery and cufflinks. Each item is made from hand painted crepe de chine silk mounted in a silver plated setting. All items can be gently hand washed and come with a soft cotton storage bag. Please visit my jewellery page to see the items I currently have available. I also take commissions so please contact me if you are looking for a bespoke unusual silk gift.

The images in my paintings and silk jewellery are painted on pure Chinese silk with specialist silk paints. I start each work with a drawing on paper and then trace the image onto a piece of white silk stretched onto a wooden frame. I then apply a special paint called gutta, which contains natural latex called gutta-percha, over my traced lines. This creates a resistive barrier through which the coloured ink will not flow. I apply the coloured ink with a brush and use salt dropped into the ink whilst wet to created textured effects.

The finished painting is removed from the wooden frame, ironed to fix the colour in the fabric and mounted in the silver plated setting.

You can see a time lapse video of me painting here.

Posted on

Unusual Silk Gift

Unusual Silk Gifts from Artist Stephanie Gay

Are you looking for an unusual silk gift? In addition to my original silk paintings and giclee prints, I am excited to be able to offer a range of silk jewellery and cufflinks. Each item is made from hand painted crepe de chine silk mounted in a silver plated setting. All items can be gently hand washed and come with a soft cotton storage bag. Please visit my jewellery page to see the items I currently have available. I also take commissions so please contact me if you are looking for a bespoke unusual silk gift.

Silk Jewellery and Cufflinks

The images in my silk jewellery are painted on pure Chinese silk with specialist silk paints. I start each work with a drawing on paper and then trace the image onto a piece of white silk stretched onto a wooden frame. I then apply a special paint called gutta, which contains natural latex called gutta-percha, over my traced lines. This creates a resistive barrier through which the coloured ink will not flow. I apply the coloured ink with a brush and use salt dropped into the ink whilst wet to created textured effects.

The finished painting is removed from the wooden frame, ironed to fix the colour in the fabric and mounted in the silver plated setting.

You can see a time lapse video of me painting here.

Posted on

Silk Anniversary Gift

So delighted that my silk painting ‘Gin and Tit’ was recently bought as a unique silk anniversary gift! I wasn’t aware that the traditional gift for a 12th wedding anniversary in the UK and 4th anniversary in the USA is something made of silk. The tradition of giving certain gifts for anniversaries can be traced back to the Roman Empire and medieval Germany. Apparently the Romans used to adorn their wives with a wreath of silver after 25 years of marriage (I wish :-)! ) In the 18th century the Germans started to develop the idea of different gifts for the other years. Anyway, I was tickled pink that I was able to contribute to someone’s special anniversary celebration in this way!

Gin and Tit Silk Anniversary Gift
Gin and Tit

‘Gin and Tit’ is part of my ‘Birds Behaving Badly’ series. In this series I explore the idea of birds up to mischief and in various compromising positions and just generally let my crazy imagination run riot. Many of my ideas also stem from my love of a good (or very bad!) word pun….

Do you have a silk anniversary is coming up soon? Why not have a browse through my available original paintings or get in touch to talk about a personalised silk painting. Perhaps a beautiful landscape that means something to you or your favourite birds, animals or flowers. I can work from photographs and even accommodate the colour scheme for your home! I’d love to create something special that will give pleasure for years to come.