Handmade Process

The Silk Art process begins with tightly stretching a canvas over a wooden frame. The design is then roughly outlined, directly on the canvas. At that point, the artist begins stitching the most intricate parts of the pattern with tiny needles and colorful silk threads, bringing the image to life.
Each strand of silk fiber can be divided in up to 16 individual threads. 1/16 of a strand of silk thread is finer than a human hair. The thinner the thread, the finer the art work. The artist then builds layers of threads of varying colors and thicknesses to create dimension, shadows, and highlights. A small piece of Silk Art takes one artist a few days to complete, a masterpiece may take several artists a few years to bring to the final stage. This array of techniques and materials come together to create unique and multi-faceted works of art.

f5fde95c96d0403f97b6f63f2e02114

Vegetable dye the pure silk

drawing-the-outline-by-wenyin-zhang

Drawing the outline

e7f5dbeec6d4d88f8e35c2427581ef6

Stitching

The handmade Silk Art process

 

Silk Art Studio

姚慧芬,Yao huifen

Master Yao Huifen

studio 3

Suzhou silk art studio

studio 1

Custom-made on processing

lion

Silk Art Lion

72041 stitch

Hand-stitching on processing

姚建萍, 姚建萍, Yao Jianping

 

In 2014, Mrs. Claudia Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, Mrs. Anna Rogge, Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee, Mrs. Denis, President of Burundi Nkurunziza, Mrs. Svetlana, President of Montenegro Vujanovic, Vanuatu Prime Minister Natuman's wife Kressi and other heads of state went to Suzhou together. Accompanied and guided by Mr. Yao Jianping, they passed the needle and thread together to experience the Chinese national intangible cultural heritage Suzhou embroidery skills. Shows infinite scenery.
Community-verified icon
姚建萍, Yao Jianping

Grandmaster Yao Jianping

蔡梅英

Master Cai Meiying

卢菊英, Lu Juying

Master Lu Juying

studio 12
US President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter viewing a gift silk art cat from Vice Chairman Deng Xiaoping during a state visit at the White House in January 1979 following the announcement of the normalization of relations with China.