Here’s a project that barely has any wood in it at all! It’s another silk banner for a friend who was being elevated to the peerage in the SCA. Owen’s arms has one of those repeating patterns that make it an awful lot of work for a vertical banner like this, but the rams at the top are interesting.
I laid out the repeating pattern in chalk, then suspended the silk in my pvc-pipe painting frame and used black gutta resist to make the lines for the pattern. Then it was a simple if maddening chore to color in every other rhomboid with paint. Once that was dry I treated the upper portion with sizing, then traced and painted the rams.
I’m always a little paranoid about the paint, so even though I used the air-set additive in the paint I also did a bunch of ironing to heat-set the paint. I have to wash the silk to get all the chalk off, so I need to be sure the paint is well and truly set.
Anyway, this banner was done in plenty of time before Pennsic, and we used it at Owen’s vigil and his procession into court. Always happy to help out, and be able to contribute a gift that somebody can actually use.
