Karen Selk
Textile Artist
Publications
Everything about wild silk is captivating, exotic and full of heart. It takes place in the remote forests of central and eastern India home to the gentle indigenous (Adivasi) people who care for the tasar, muga and eri silkworms. Rearing silkworms in the open forest is a risky business; full of predators, disease and bad weather as well as the things we cannot see - like the health of the soil that grows the trees the silkworms feed on.
The journey of metamorphosis from caterpillar to silken luxury is miraculous. Photos and anecdotes captured from weavers, spinners, textile artists and silkworm farmers transport you into their homes and villages to get an up-close look at the intimate connections to the skill, dedication, and techniques the artisans use to transform cocoons into yarn and luxurious fabric.
This little-known industry not only provides us with resplendent cloth but improves our environment and provides a sustainable income, allowing families and communities to stay together while preserving a way of life.
Hardcover 8.5 x 11 with 270 pages and 360 photographs.
Available from Schiffer Publishing or Amazon
Silk Fusion Video
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Silk Fusion is a unique process that bonds silk fibres into a lustrous kind of "felt" which can be gossamer and transparent or thick and opaque as leather.
Eight projects are presented in the DVD, each one demonstrating a different technique. Karen talks about silk fibre and shows the complete process of making a piece of flat silk fusion which can later be hand or machine stitched, painted, printed, folded or beaded.
Eight Projects including:
a journal cover, three-dimensional vessel, window hanging, and five greeting cards.
Techniques include:
rubber stamping, painting, embossing, beading, embedding, shaping, scrunching, stencilling, nature printing and assembling.
Easy solutions are provided for anticipated problems.
Winner of the Aegis Award of Excellence 2002, the Communicator Award of Distinction 2002, the Telly Awards 2003 and the Remi Award 2003!
2 hours.
Available from Treenway Silks
Silk Poster
Words and beautiful, colorful drawings describe the life cycle of the silkworm from egg to cocoon, to moth to silkworm again within a circle.
The area outside the circle explains and depicts how the silken strand is released from the cocoon and made into yarn and cloth.
The back is filled with further fascinating silk information.
Beautiful for a studio wall or great teaching tool spanning science, culture and history.
Measures 18.5" x 18.5"
Available from (Shop Books and Patterns) Treenway Silks
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Selected Articles
“Keepers of the Cloth” The Wheel, Issue 29, 2017/2018.
“In God We Have Faith, In Silk We Have Trust” Ply magazine, Spring 2014.
“A River Runs Through It” The Wheel, Issue 25, 2013.
“Peace Silk – what does it really mean?” SpinOff, Winter 2013.
“Good Times, Sad Times, Changing Times” Speaking with Hands, a collaborative book assembled by Malathi Ramaswamy. Cinnamon Teal Publishing, India, 2012.
“Clay and Straw and Lots of Love” The Wheel, Issue 22 2010.
“Natural by Nature: a Five-silk Scarf” Handwoven, May/June 2009.
“Mardi Gras and Birds of a Feather, Silk Fusion Bags” Interweave Felt, Special Issue 2008.
“Laos, A Treasured Past Meets a Bright Future” Handwoven, Nov/Dec 2008.
“Living Traditions of Silk Production in Laos and India”, Silk Unraveled! Threads of Human History, Smith College Studies in History Volume LIII, Edited by Marjorie Senechal, 2005.
“Silk Anew” Cloth paper scissors, Fall 2005.
“Flirting with Eyelash” Handwoven, Jan/Feb 2003.
“Setting Limits – Equals Gaining Confidence” Handwoven, Sept/Nov 2002.
“Silk Fusion” Somerset Studio, Vol 6, Issue 3, May/June 2002.
“Wild Silk Jungles of India” Spin-Off, Vol XXIV, Spring 2000.
“Evening Sky over the Rockies, Evening Sky over the Mekong” Handwoven, Vol XXI, January/February2000.
"Unravelling a Bit of Nature" The Australian Hand Weaver and Spinner, Vol 52, 1999.
"Journey on a Silken Thread" Weavers, Fall 1998.
"Inspiration-Idea-Accomplishment" Handwoven, January/February 1991.
"Abaca, Plant Versatility: Upholstery, Cloth, Manila Envelopes, Mariners Rope" Colour Trends, 1990.
"Handwoven Splendour from the Philippine Cordillera" Colour Trends, 1990.
"Textile Treasures of India" Australian Textile - Fibre Forum, April 1990.
"Ins and Outs of Weaving Silk for Clothing" Threads, June/July 1989.
"Impressions of India" Colour Trends, Winter 1989.
"Unravelled Luxury from a Humble Cocoon" Threads, February/March 1988.
"Sericulture in Thailand" Colour Trends, Fall 1988.
"A Kimono/Pants Ensemble", The Weaver's Journal, April 1984.