Rebecca Wachtman

My processes for gathering and prepping reclaiming silks for use  in silk paintings and other art projects (part 1 of 3) I've had several people ask me what steps I take, when I find a silk item that I want to use for my art. Since you've asked, I thought I'd tell you ( I'm always happy to share! ). Silk chiffon overlay Silk Dupioni First of all, I usually find my silks at thrift stores and garage sales.  I have found a few on Ebay (that I was willing to pay for) and I've even had a couple of artist friends provide me with some new silk remnants (which is lovely because then I don't have to worry about prepping the silk for use). (These are pictures of just a few silks which I've found at various thrift stores)         1) The VERY first thing I do while in the store, is decide IF I can even use the silks I find.  I t's important to know how you want to use silk!   Are you painting on it, sewing with it, twisting it, decoupa...

Well friends, this year is turning into a bit of a trial for me as an artist.  I'm finding my time (as an artist)  severely limited and that is INCREDIBLY frustrating!  This year, my plan was to ramp up the business side of being an artist.  Get the blog going more regularly and modernize it Post on Facebook more frequently Get more involved in other social media (ie, instagram, pinterest, youtube, etc) Try selling more online Get in more shows, galleries, etc Sell more It all sounds great and I am getting some done (researching what I want my website and/or blog to look like, posting on my blog more often, applying to shows), but life has a way of throwing a monkey-wrench into the heart of things (for instance, having to get a full-time job in order to provide benefits for my family).  But I am working my way through it all, and squeezing in art whenever I can! MTB The Inner Soul MTB The Outer Shell To that end, I have applied for two mor...

My side of the booth I had a blast last night - thanks to all my friends and customers who stopped by my booth last night!! Last night was Sammamish Nights - which is a wine and food tasting event in Sammamish, Washington.  There were a variety of food and drink vendors there - plus artists from the Sammamish Art Fair were invited to attend and exhibit (including yours truly!). Some of the other artist booths Not only was there wine and food (which us lucky artists got to enjoy without cost!), but there was a fabulous band to listen to and after dark (and a lot of alcohol), many people got out on the floor and had a blast dancing. This event was a chance for the artists to show some of the work that will be seen at the Sammamish Art Fair in October (October 11th and 12th from 10am to 5pm).  It's going to be a lot of fun with a wide variety of gorgeous artwork!  Hope to see you there!!

I am so excited!   I have entered my first Art Competition!!  I can proudly say that I have two silk paintings participating in the 44th Annual Helen Norris Open Art Show and they are now on display (and for sale) at the Sidney Art (Gallery) and Museum in Port Orchard, Washington.  The Goldfinch has been mounted to a 10"x8" canvas using Acrylic Matte Medium.  The Tulip Tree has been mounted to a 9"x12" canvas using Acrylic Matte Medium.  Both are also going to be available soon as prints on Fine Art America's website . 9"x12" Canvas - Tulip Tree $157 10"x8" Canvas - Goldfinch in Breeding Plumage $135 Next weekend (Saturday,May 3rd) is an artist reception (and is when the judging will take place).   The reception is from 1-4pm.  Please stop by and take a look - there will be refreshments and the chance to chat with the artists (in addition to a wide variety of art to view).   I'll be there and I hope I get the...

I am having a blast (and a bit of frustration) learning new techniques for painting on silk! At the retreat ( see previous post ), I learned more about the MS (Magic Sizing) method created by master-silk-painter Karen Sistek (A WONDERFUL TEACHER - I highly recommend taking a class or two or three from her if you decide you want to learn to paint silk!).  And after much discussion with my retreat-mates, I am also going to experiment with Pro Print Paste as a resist (for the Serti method which I already am using). My latest paintings (also can be seen in my gallery ) include a landscape and a magnolia painting done with the Serti method (using Resistad), and a poppy using the MS technique.  My next project is going to be an Iris using the MS method and a friend's adorable dog.  I'll post the pictures when I'm done.  Thanks for looking, and if you're interested in purchasing any of the paintings in my gallery, please send me an email! A View From The Ferry V2...

The Lovely Ladies of the Spring 2014 Silk Painting Retreat I just got back from a 4 day Silk Painting Retreat held at Fort Worden State Park by Sharon Shankland and Karen Sistek .   We had a WONDERFUL time and highly recommend attending a future retreat if you get the chance!!  Fort Worden is just outside of Port Townsend which is just a short drive and a ferry-ride away from Seattle.  Yup, that's me - painting my poppy I spent the majority of my time working on my painting - but I also spent some time exploring and finding inspirations for future art pieces (or for sketching in my art journal).   My poppy (unfinished) I painted a pink poppy using Karen's MS technique.  Thanks also to Suzy for her advice and encouragement to try new techniques including using dyeset while still working on the painting.  Puget Sound & Foothills (unfinished) This sc...

Welcome to my new site!  I am excited to be taking this next-step in my journey as an artist!! I am in the process of setting up a new site (which will probably take a while).  In the mean time, I've set up this blog.  The tabs at the top will allow you to view my work, find out who I am and what I do, see some of my favorite (and most helpful) links, and take you to my business website for Re-CoveredTreasures.com. Thanks for your patience with me as I get this all set up - and I welcome any feedback you'd like to offer! Rebecca Wachtman