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Just A Piece Of Silk

Aug 27, 2013
by Caroline Miller
"Michael Moritz, "Why I paint", art's life lesson, silk painting
6 Comments

In my mid fifties I decided to take up painting. My maternal great-grandfather had been a well-known artists in Central America, earning his living as a painter of frescos on the walls and ceilings of churches and other public buildings. My mother also painted, though living in poverty afforded her little time or money to support her passion. So, in midlife, I decided to discover if I had any artistic talents. I choose silk painting which I didn’t realize was a medium less forgiving than oil or even watercolor. Once a hue strikes silk, fate takes control as much as the artist.

 During my first lesson, I was given a large square of silk and told to paint whatever I liked. The intent was for me learn how color spreads on the cloth. Around me, my classmates fell eagerly to their task. Some were accomplished artists in other mediums, and they were filled with curiosity about this new technique. I, on the other hand, being neither accomplished nor feeling imaginative, sat mesmerized. How long I stared into that vast expanse of arctic whiteness, as if I suffered from snow blindness, I don’t know, but halfway through the assignment my teacher lost patience. “Caroline,” she barked as she stood over my shoulder. “It’s just a piece of silk!”

 Jarred from my lethargy, I realized she was right. I’d been intimidated by a cloth with a retail value of $2. Nothing was at stake except my vanity and my hubris in believing whatever I did had to be perfect.

 Like me, Michael Moritz, CEO of a large investment company, decided to take up painting in mid life. And like me, he was awed by his first square of white canvas. He got over it, as did I, and learned a similar lesson:

 The consequences of an unsatisfactory painting are only frustration and disappointment — nothing worse. The canvas will not punch you in the eye or bruise anything beyond your ego. (“Why I Paint,” Michael Moritz, Fortune, 7/22/2013, pg106.)

 I had to laugh. Art teaches us to look closely at the world around us, but mostly we learn a lesson about ourselves.

Lotus Pond

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(A silk painting by the author,  Carolne Miller)

 

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6 Comments
  1. Susan Stoner August 27, 2013 at 8:26 am Reply
    Carolyn, That visual is gorgeous. Is your work for sale anywhere? S.
    • Caroline Miller August 27, 2013 at 8:47 am Reply
      Thank you Susan. The work used to be for sale but I haven't made anything for years. I have no remnants as I always sold whatever I made because my prices were low. But silk painting is demanding, especially the Japanese Rozome style of wax paintingI worked with. Bad fumes, hours spent bent over a horizonal frame to control paint flow. Had to give silk painting up. Writing can be equally infuriating but it's kinder on my anatomy. But thanks for asking and for the compliment.
  2. Bill Whitlatch August 27, 2013 at 10:04 am Reply
    Very nice !
    • Caroline Miller August 27, 2013 at 11:51 am Reply
      Thank you, Bill.
  3. Cheri August 28, 2013 at 1:08 pm Reply
    Beautiful silk painting. I love the frogs.
    • Caroline Miller August 28, 2013 at 1:10 pm Reply
      Kind of you to drop by, Cheri, and say so. I apprecaite it.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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