Susan Helmer

As a child, I was introduced to art through classes at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. All I remember from those classes are an image of huge bottles of brightly colored tempera paint lined up on a window sill. This experience started my love of color.

While on vacation in Washington about 15 years ago, I attended a silk painting class. The minute I saw the incredibly intense colors spread like magic on the silk; I was hooked. I gave away my watercolors and dove into silk painting.

I am now incorporating my love of textiles and beads into my painting. My subjects range from florals to abstracts. Flowers are viewed close up so you are almost staring into the petals. Abstracts are all about the color and pattern. After a painting is completed and steamed the silk is then embroidered with thread and/or beads.