Beauty comes in many different forms.  The cracked mosaic in the mud at the bottom of a ditch or the intense color of a Water Lilly are equally beautiful.  My identity, important to develop with seven younger siblings, centered around my art and was cultivated by lessons taught by my mother, art classes attended with my mother, and in 4-H programs.  I later studied with Ray Troll at the University of Alaska and then in the commercial art program at Utah State University. 

I have often wondered why I see beauty as I do in its many different forms and why I am driven to interpret what I see in my art.  I have concluded it has a lot to do, as cliché as it may sound, with the odd manner in which I was raised.  I was born in Alaska and my father’s nomadic wanderings took our family from Alaska to Central America, and everywhere in between.  Our homes  included a ramshackle hand-built cabin/tent on an uninhabited island in Alaska, fishing boats, an orange van, various seedy motels, a dilapidated boarding house in a former mining town in Idaho, and an old school bus parked on the beach in Belize, Central America.  Fortunately for me and my siblings, my mother was an artist and no matter where we lived she made an effort to expose us to art and beauty in its various incongruous forms.  Even though money, food, and other necessities were always scarce, and no matter where we were living or driving to at that particular time, she taught us to see the beauty in everything around us.  Sunsets, the moon reflecting on the ocean, or a dew drenched spider web never escaped notice. 

As an artist, I am always exploring new art forms and jump at the chance to expand my knowledge.  My first exposure to silk painting as a fine art form came while I was living in Vancouver, Washington.  The City of Vancouver had just completed a beautiful new city building and determined they wanted a series of silk paintings to hang as banners in the public spaces.  Although I had never heard of silk painting, let alone tried it, I let them persuade me to undertake the project.  All apprehension aside and ready to take the challenge, I bought a book on the process and let loose.  My first silk painting was 11 feet long!  Even with my lack of experience in the medium the final product was a beautiful banner and piece of art.  I fell in love with the unpredictability of the dyes, the way the colors blended together, and the illumination of the finished piece in the light.  Needless to say, I was hooked!  Through a lot of trial, and much error, I have continued to refine the process and develop a style that is enhanced by the beauty of the medium.

Each painting starts as an idea, many times coming to me in a dream the previous night or inspired by a piece of nature that captures my imagination.  I then attempt to render a line drawing and flesh my ideas out on paper until a final, or should I say semi-final, version that embodies my vision is achieved.  The silk I use is made in Thailand and comes in a raw, untreated form, that has a delicate finish, yet is very durable and when left untreated allows the dye to permanently bond to the fibers.  I stretch the silk taut on a hand built frame and then lightly hand sketch the image on the fabric.  Dye by its very nature is liquid, runny, and very messy, and, like one of my kids, it needs boundaries. 

I use a resist called gutta, which is made of rubber, and apply it to the pencil lines.  This process creates a barrier for the dyes, allowing two colors to exist side-by-side without bleeding into each other.  An imperfect art, the resist frequently breaks down allowing colors to follow their own heart, often taking the painting in a completely new direction.  While this makes the process much more difficult for me, it forces me to stretch my creative abilities and lets the piece take on its own life.  I have learned many beautiful techniques through these “accidents” and as a consequence my paintings mature and evolve on a constant basis.  I love the way these paintings have a way of painting themselves, telling me how they want to come alive.  Always the control freak, I just have to figure out how to allow this to happen with each piece.  During the process several layers of dye and resist are applied until the desired depth and color are achieved.  Alcohol, salt, and water lines are just a few of the tools I use to create the beautiful free lines and texture evident in my work.  Highlights and details are then added with silk paints to complete the piece.  Once the painting process is complete, I then steam the painting for several hours to set the dye and intensify the color.  The piece is then stretched over foam core and  framed.

My offbeat childhood gave me many resources to draw on when escaping into my world of art.  As they say, hindsight is 20/20, but I see now that these experiences have helped me grow as a person and to develop my sense of beauty, which I now want to share with others to help them see beauty, as I do in its many different forms.

Elise currently resides in Idaho Falls, Idaho with the love of her life and their 4 amazing children.