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The Magic of Layers
by Pamela Glose
Has an idea ever resonated with you so much it made you say, "Why didn’t I think of that?" I’m not sure who the genius was that first put two silk paintings together into a single unit, but it certainly wasn’t me. I first heard about it, by chance, on a television segment that aired several years ago. The artist being interviewed was a lovely lady who painted dancing cranes and other Eastern subjects on silk in layers. I was intrigued and decided to try it out myself, and that’s how it all began for me.
To give you a little background, I graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1983 with a degree in Education (I’m certified in Business and Art). After teaching middle and elementary school for a total of 15 years, I had the opportunity to leave teaching and focus on my art. I loved several mediums and couldn’t pick a favorite; I had a desire to find one area in which I could specialize and build a body of work. I took a Fibers and Fabrics course at the University of Central Florida the following year, and that’s when I discovered silk painting.
(To read more, go to Vol. 22, Issue No. 1.)
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Power Sauce by Asher Katz
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Great Beginnings With Asher Katz
by Ashley Nichols
The phrase “all great things must come to an end” can be rather misleading. Many people have proven that quite the opposite is true. Ending could signify a lack of vision or a petering out of passion.
That is contrary to everything for which Asher Katz and his company, Jacquard Products, stands. For Asher, it’s more like great things come from great beginnings and hopeful futures.
Asher’s father, Michael Katz, started Jacquard Products in the early 1980s as a small business that ran, primarily, from their family garage. Fast forward a few years and the company soon became a distributor for some select labels and merchandise catering to silk painters. Now, Jacquard is the leading manufacturer of textile artist materials with two sister companies – Jacquard Inkjet Fabric Systems and Silkconnection.com – and an ever-growing dedication to making quality art supplies.
Asher always had an appreciation for art, but it took music to grow that appreciation into something deeper. Like most adolescents in high school, Asher wanted to do his own thing. Coincidentally enough it was this desire that led him right back to his father’s personal passion. |
