Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Elephant No. 206: Painting on Silk




I've been meaning to try painting on silk for a long time, despite the fact that I find the whole idea a little intimidating. I dislike wasting supplies, and I have a feeling that this might be a supply-wasting day. Even the people at the art store where I bought everything said that no one there had ever tried it either, and that it looked hard when they watched someone else do it. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Although silk fibres are produced by various insects, the most commonly known type of silk comes from the cocoons of the mulberry silkworm (bombyx mori). Many of the other insects that produce silk—including bees, wasps, ants, beetles, flies, crickets, and of course spiders—make silk with no cocoon at all. 

Chinese tradition maintains that silk has been produced in China since around 2700 B.C. For more than two millennia, the secret of silk production remained a closely guarded secret, with China enjoying a virtual monopoly on the luxury material. Sometime after 500 B.C., however, with the expansion of trade over the aptly named Silk Road, the cultivation and manufacture of silk spread across Asia, the Middle East, and eventually into Europe and beyond. So valuable was the material in its early days, that merchants traded it for gold, ivory, precious stones and horses.

By A.D. 300, the cultivation of silk had spread to Japan, and in A.D. 522, the Byzantines had managed to acquire silkworm eggs, allowing them also to begin silkworm cultivation. Around the same time, silk production had also begun in the Arab world. As a result, Chinese silk imports declined in value, although luxury silk was still a Chinese specialty.

Silk production arrived in Western Europe via the Crusades (A.D. 1095–1272)—particularly in the Italian states, which enjoyed an economic boom thanks to their export of silk to the rest of Europe. With the introduction of the spinning wheel around the late thirteenth century, the production of silk thread became much easier.

France also joined the ranks of silk-producing countries, and became one of the few to establish a truly successful silk industry. By the middle of the seventeenth century, the city of Lyon—which had become the capital of the European silk trade—had 14,000 silk looms in operation, and the silk industry employed a full third of the city's population.


Illustration from the Encyclopédie de Diderot et
D'Alembert (1751–1772) showing the steps involved in
producing silk.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Planche_Soie.jpg		 


The Industrial Revolution (1750–1850) changed the silk industry considerably, particularly in Europe and Japan. In France, the Jacquard loom was invented, which allowed the production of fine silk patterns. Output in all silk-producing countries skyrocketed with the enhancement of specialized weaving equipment, and the price began to drop within reach of a growing middle class.

At several times in history, epidemics of silkworm diseases have caused production to fall significantly. This was a major issue during the 1860s in France, where the industry never really recovered. The advent of manmade fabrics such as nylon, polyester and rayon—once known as "poor man's silk"—also affected the industry.

During the twentieth century, China, India and Japan regained their position as world leaders in silk production, and today China is once again the world leader in silk production with approximately 54% of the market, followed by India with 14%.

Silk is traditionally produced by raising mulberry silkworms which, as the name suggests, are silkworms that eat the leaves of mulberry trees. This obviously means that, to support a viable silk industry, you also need a climate conducive to growing mulberry trees.

In sericulture—the production of silk fibres—silk moths are induced to lay their eggs on specially prepared paper. When the eggs hatch, the caterpillars are fed fresh mulberry leaves. After about 35 days, the caterpillars begin spinning a cocoon by producing strands of liquid silk. Within two or three days, the caterpillar has produced about 1.6 kilometres (one mile) of filament, and is completely encased.


Cocoon of the mulberry silkworm.
Photo: Gerd A.T. Müller
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bombyx_mori_Cocon_02.jpg


Silk farmers then kill most of the cocoons by steaming them, although they leave some to turn into moths to perpetuate the cycle. The harvested cocoons are then soaked in boiling water to soften the sticky protein that holds the threads of the cocoon together. Finally, the fibres are unwound in a single continuous filament called a "bave", which is then spun together with anywhere from three to ten other strands to create a silk thread.

In addition to the cultivation of mulberry silkworms, some countries also produce "wild silk". Since ancient times, wild silks have been produced from the cocoons of caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm. This has always been a far less important industry, partly because the fibres are less fine and less uniform, and also because the cocoons are often discovered only after the insect has emerged, resulting in torn fibres that are much harder to spin.

Some forms of wild silk have come to be known as "ahimsa silk" or "peace silk". This is silk harvested from the cocoons of wild and semi-wild silk moths, and is only produced from cocoons that do not contain living caterpillars. Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word meaning "non-violence" and "do no harm", and derives from the philosophy espoused by Mohandas Gandhi. Ahimsa silk is currently produced in parts of southern India for those who would prefer not to wear silk made by killing silkworms.

Interestingly, although silk is a natural fibre—something we don't normally associate with a static charge—it is a poor conductor of electricity. This makes it susceptible to static cling. I don't know about you, but I had no idea that the ability of a fabric to conduct electricity was what led to static charge on my clothes. Silk can also shrink either in the wash or when dry-cleaned, due to a crinkling or "relaxation" of the structure of the fibre.


For today's elephant, I went to a local art store and bought a silk scarf with rolled hem measuring 20 x 137 cm (8 x 54 inches), three colours of silk paints, and something called "gutta" which is supposed to keep the colours from running all over the place. For instructions, I picked up the free leaflet next to the paints, which is really all you need to begin.






To start, I drew a rough sketch on paper, so that I wouldn't get lost when I started drawing on the silk with the gold gutta.




I laid the silk over a sheet of bristol board, and began drawing. For the elephant part, I sketched it out on a sheet of white paper, sized to the scarf, and sort of traced it through the silk with the gold gutta outliner.




For the flowers, I drew most of them freehand, as may be able to tell from their eccentricity.

The gutta needs to dry for about half an hour, but because I had made it fairly thick, I let it dry a bit longer, just to be safe.

Once the gutta is dry, you can start painting things in. I began with the pink, painting all the flowers. My reasoning was that, since I didn't know how to use any of this stuff, I should start somewhere inconspicuous.




When you touch a paintbrush to the silk, it basically blossoms onto the fabric, absorbing quickly. This can either be good or bad. Bad if you want lots of subtle shading; good if you just want to colour in the spaces outlined by your gutta. For painting, I used a good-quality watercolour brush. Since the silk paints are water-based, this is apparently the best choice, and keeps the paint from dropping too quickly off the brush.

Once I'd done the pink parts of all the flowers, I painted the flower stems and the leaves on the flowers. I ran into a bit of a problem where a stem adjoined the elephant's trunk, because the gutta was a bit too thin and hadn't sealed the fabric properly. Good thing the elephant was going to be dark purple.




When I had finished the green, I added purple bits to the flowers. Adding a dot of purple near the centre of each petal made a nice little bit of shading in the flowers, because the pink was still slightly damp.




When I could no longer avoid tackling the daunting elephant shape, I started in on that. Because it's such a large area, with very few outlines, the paint went on a bit streaky. I didn't hate this effect, but it meant I had to pay at least a little attention to the direction of my brushstrokes. I also toyed a bit with leaving soft lines against the white, but I didn't really like that effect in this particular case.




When I was finished, I let everything dry for about ten minutes, but the instruction leaflet said that five minutes is enough. Once everything was dry, I ironed it at a setting slightly hotter than the silk setting on my iron. I ironed it from the reverse first, then gently over the front. The idea is to heat-set the gutta and the paints so that you can wash it. The photograph below shows what one of the flowers looks like from the reverse side.




The sketching and gutta outlining took me about 45 minutes, and the painting another 45, so it's not all that time-consuming. It was also far less difficult than I expected, and I didn't make a mess of it as I had anticipated. Another bonus is that you use very little of anything for this. The merest dot of paint will saturate a surprisingly large area, and I used less than a quarter of the tube of gutta for everything I drew.

I'm not sure if I prefer the front with the shiny gold outlines, or the back, where the effect is more subtle, but I'm quite happy with my first attempt at painting on silk. It's actually a lot prettier in real life than in these cruel closeup photos, which make the silk look like burlap.

My design was simple and my painting technique fairly rudimentary, so this was probably easier than it should have been—but I can see how it would be fun to play with different effects, and I'll definitely try this again.






Elephant Lore of the Day
Although we normally think of elephants as being either "African" or "Asian", a 2010 DNA study has shown that there are actually two completely different species of African elephant: the savanna elephant, and the forest elephant.

Traditionally, forest and savanna elephants have been classified as subspecies of the African elephant, similar to the way the Sumatran elephant and the Borneo pygmy elephant have been classified as subspecies of the Asian elephant. There are, however, significant genetic differences between the two types of African elephant, and they have recently been reclassified as distinct species.

There are also many physical and behavioural differences. Forest elephants have smaller, straighter tusks than savanna elephants, and have smaller, more rounded ears. They also have five toes like Asian elephants, rather than the six that African elephants have. Because they have developed in large open areas, savanna elephants are almost twice the size of their forest counterparts. Forest elephants are also far less numerous, and live in small family groups of just a few animals, whereas savanna elephants live in herds of anywhere from ten to seventy members.

The debate about whether forest and savanna elephants are all the same species of elephant has been simmering for decades. For the recent study, however, DNA was sampled and genomes were sequenced for five distinct animals: the Asian elephant, the African forest elephant, the African savanna elephant, the American mastodon and the woolly mammoth. The results showed that the two types of African elephants had diverged some two million years ago, and that they are as genetically distinct today as the Asian elephant is from the woolly mammoth.

The discovery could have conservation implications. If forest elephants and savanna elephants are two separate species, then there are fewer of each than originally thought. Very little research has been done on forest elephants, and their numbers are far fewer than savanna elephants. Most importantly, forest elephants are under far greater threat than their savanna cousins, because their habitat is currently disappearing at an alarming rate.

New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

The study, which appeared in today’s issue of Public Library of Science, says the elephants have adopted a “siege mentality” and literally cannot bring themselves to cross roadways, even in search of food.
“Forest elephants are basically living in fear of their lives in prisons created by roads. They are roaming around the woods like frightened mice rather than tranquil formidable giants of their forest realm,” said Dr. Stephen Blake, the study’s lead author.

But it’s not the roads themselves the elephants fear; it’s the poachers who travel on the roads. So for now, the elephants may be protecting themselves from certain death from poachers, but eventually, as their habitats shrink, they could be separated from food sources and important mineral deposits.
The researchers tracked 28 elephants in six different areas in the Republic of Congo and Gabonwith. Using GPS systems they followed the elephants, finding that only one was brave enough to cross a road—and even then, the elephant ran at 14 times its normal speed.
Road construction is not slowing down in Central Africa, which could spell bad news for the endangered giants. But researchers believe some quick planning changes could make a huge difference.
“A small yet very feasible shift in development planning, one that is actually good for poor local forest people and for wildlife and wilderness, would be a tremendous help to protect forest elephants and their home,” said Blake.
“Planning roads to give forest elephants breathing space so that at least those in the deep forest can relax, as well as reduce the death and fear that comes with roads by reducing poaching, would be trivial in terms of cost but massively important for conservation.”



Female African forest elephant with baby, 2010.
Photo: Bruce Davidson/naturepl.com
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/African_Forest_Elephant

 

New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

The study, which appeared in today’s issue of Public Library of Science, says the elephants have adopted a “siege mentality” and literally cannot bring themselves to cross roadways, even in search of food.
“Forest elephants are basically living in fear of their lives in prisons created by roads. They are roaming around the woods like frightened mice rather than tranquil formidable giants of their forest realm,” said Dr. Stephen Blake, the study’s lead author.

But it’s not the roads themselves the elephants fear; it’s the poachers who travel on the roads. So for now, the elephants may be protecting themselves from certain death from poachers, but eventually, as their habitats shrink, they could be separated from food sources and important mineral deposits.
The researchers tracked 28 elephants in six different areas in the Republic of Congo and Gabonwith. Using GPS systems they followed the elephants, finding that only one was brave enough to cross a road—and even then, the elephant ran at 14 times its normal speed.
Road construction is not slowing down in Central Africa, which could spell bad news for the endangered giants. But researchers believe some quick planning changes could make a huge difference.
“A small yet very feasible shift in development planning, one that is actually good for poor local forest people and for wildlife and wilderness, would be a tremendous help to protect forest elephants and their home,” said Blake.
“Planning roads to give forest elephants breathing space so that at least those in the deep forest can relax, as well as reduce the death and fear that comes with roads by reducing poaching, would be trivial in terms of cost but massively important for conservation.”

New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

The study, which appeared in today’s issue of Public Library of Science, says the elephants have adopted a “siege mentality” and literally cannot bring themselves to cross roadways, even in search of food.
“Forest elephants are basically living in fear of their lives in prisons created by roads. They are roaming around the woods like frightened mice rather than tranquil formidable giants of their forest realm,” said Dr. Stephen Blake, the study’s lead author.

But it’s not the roads themselves the elephants fear; it’s the poachers who travel on the roads. So for now, the elephants may be protecting themselves from certain death from poachers, but eventually, as their habitats shrink, they could be separated from food sources and important mineral deposits.
The researchers tracked 28 elephants in six different areas in the Republic of Congo and Gabonwith. Using GPS systems they followed the elephants, finding that only one was brave enough to cross a road—and even then, the elephant ran at 14 times its normal speed.
Road construction is not slowing down in Central Africa, which could spell bad news for the endangered giants. But researchers believe some quick planning changes could make a huge difference.
“A small yet very feasible shift in development planning, one that is actually good for poor local forest people and for wildlife and wilderness, would be a tremendous help to protect forest elephants and their home,” said Blake.
“Planning roads to give forest elephants breathing space so that at least those in the deep forest can relax, as well as reduce the death and fear that comes with roads by reducing poaching, would be trivial in terms of cost but massively important for conservation.”

New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

The study, which appeared in today’s issue of Public Library of Science, says the elephants have adopted a “siege mentality” and literally cannot bring themselves to cross roadways, even in search of food.
“Forest elephants are basically living in fear of their lives in prisons created by roads. They are roaming around the woods like frightened mice rather than tranquil formidable giants of their forest realm,” said Dr. Stephen Blake, the study’s lead author.

But it’s not the roads themselves the elephants fear; it’s the poachers who travel on the roads. So for now, the elephants may be protecting themselves from certain death from poachers, but eventually, as their habitats shrink, they could be separated from food sources and important mineral deposits.
The researchers tracked 28 elephants in six different areas in the Republic of Congo and Gabonwith. Using GPS systems they followed the elephants, finding that only one was brave enough to cross a road—and even then, the elephant ran at 14 times its normal speed.
Road construction is not slowing down in Central Africa, which could spell bad news for the endangered giants. But researchers believe some quick planning changes could make a huge difference.
“A small yet very feasible shift in development planning, one that is actually good for poor local forest people and for wildlife and wilderness, would be a tremendous help to protect forest elephants and their home,” said Blake.
“Planning roads to give forest elephants breathing space so that at least those in the deep forest can relax, as well as reduce the death and fear that comes with roads by reducing poaching, would be trivial in terms of cost but massively important for conservation.”

New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

The study, which appeared in today’s issue of Public Library of Science, says the elephants have adopted a “siege mentality” and literally cannot bring themselves to cross roadways, even in search of food.
“Forest elephants are basically living in fear of their lives in prisons created by roads. They are roaming around the woods like frightened mice rather than tranquil formidable giants of their forest realm,” said Dr. Stephen Blake, the study’s lead author.

But it’s not the roads themselves the elephants fear; it’s the poachers who travel on the roads. So for now, the elephants may be protecting themselves from certain death from poachers, but eventually, as their habitats shrink, they could be separated from food sources and important mineral deposits.
The researchers tracked 28 elephants in six different areas in the Republic of Congo and Gabonwith. Using GPS systems they followed the elephants, finding that only one was brave enough to cross a road—and even then, the elephant ran at 14 times its normal speed.
Road construction is not slowing down in Central Africa, which could spell bad news for the endangered giants. But researchers believe some quick planning changes could make a huge difference.
“A small yet very feasible shift in development planning, one that is actually good for poor local forest people and for wildlife and wilderness, would be a tremendous help to protect forest elephants and their home,” said Blake.
“Planning roads to give forest elephants breathing space so that at least those in the deep forest can relax, as well as reduce the death and fear that comes with roads by reducing poaching, would be trivial in terms of cost but massively important for conservation.”
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