Silk works on display at craft fair

By Phyllis Lehrer
Staff Writer

Published on July 11, 2008

Nature inspires the designs of Sally Dillon.

Her silk scarves, jackets and wall hangings feature the birds that fly in the skies and the fish that swim in the sea.

"All have to do with nature," said Dillon during a conversation in the basement studio of her Amherst home, where one wall is a photo gallery of her works and the awards she has won.

Ginkgo leaves, trees, iris, herons and dolphins and one very large alligator can be seen on her scarves at the 28th annual Crafts on the Common to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County. The fair will be held July 12 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine, on the Town Common. Admission is free. The crafts include ceramics, photographs, paintings, wood, clothing, toys, jewelry. The event includes food, entertainment and a raffle.

The nature theme is reflected in quilted wall hangings in her home. A rich deep red 60-by-60 inch quilt hanging in the living room depicts Acadia National Park. The center panel is a map of the site. The surrounding panels feature a heron, lobster and horseshoe crab in white, while small inserts depict shells. Gold strips offer a contrast. In the dining room a larger hanging depicts an East Texas bayou with ox bow, turtle, frog eggs and tadpoles The hanging are silk, the fabric for all her creations.

"I thought of using cotton or wool but wanted silk. You can't get the bright vibrant colors with cotton. The colors blend in a beautiful way, and it feels so good," she said touching the fabric.

Dillon explained the process: The fabric is pinned onto rectangular wood frames that were made by her father, a carpenter, as well as herself. She paints the material using foam or bristle brushes. The dyes come in one-liter bottles and are diluted with water in yogurt cups. She uses wax - a blend of paraffin and bees wax - to apply the design. The fabric is rolled in newspaper and put in steamer for five hours.

The steamer sits in the corner of her studio. It's an aluminum chimney pipe with a hot water heater. The heat sets the dye and melts the wax that the paper absorbs. She washes the fabric and sends it to a dry cleaner to ensure all wax is removed. She occasionally salts her pieces.

"The salt draws moisture out of the dye and makes a lovely texture, " said Dillon, who grew up in Fitchburg and moved to Amherst 12 years ago.

"It's low tech and not very difficult," she said of the process. "You could figure out how it works by reading books. It's like watercolor; it's not hard to do, but it's more difficult to do it right," said Dillon, who majored in art at Mount Holyoke College. She earned a master's in art from the University of New Mexico, where she did stuffed sculptures.

The final task is ironing and applying a tags that she hand paints. The tags offer a clue to her productivity.

"I order them by the thousands and have gone through one box already," she said. She estimates she makes 1,000 scarves and 50 to 60 jackets in a year. A pipe suspended from the ceiling holds a collection of her works in a rainbow of colors that mirror all the dots spotting the carpet underfoot.

It takes about two weeks to complete a scarf. But she doesn't make one at a time. A half dozen were in the frames while others with the silhouette of the Holyoke range were on drying racks. While they are drying or steaming, she may be ironing or sending her creations to one of the 31 galleries across the country that carry her pieces.

She is seen locally at Skera in Northampton and Arts Unlimited in South Hadley. She also had her work at the Fiber Arts Center in Amherst where she also taught classes. She said she is sorry that the venue is closed.

Dillon said she has noticed trends in colors. "Some years, the trend is brights; some years, it's neutrals. I should pay attention to the trends in the garment industry. But that's not what I want to do; I want to do art."