Sissi Siska’s unique hand-painted silk works use the dye and gutta-serti technique. Formerly a textile designer, Siska has been painting silk for more than 20 years. “Having had no formal training in textile arts, I learned the original French technique of painting on silk —gutta-serti resist—by trial and error,” Siska explains.  

She also uses a variety of combinations of wax resist techniques (Indonesian tjanting tools, batik crackle effects, etc ) in conjunction with salt-dispersed dyes; alcohol blending; rubber stamps; dye removal; and others.  Her use of unusual jacquard weave fabrics gives more depth and texture to a piece and the use of copper, silver and gold leaf has become a signature theme of late. 

Siska is long famous for her luxurious, custom-designed textiles in designer fashion houses. Siska's work is featured in Susan L. Moyer’s classic book on silk painting, Silkpainting: The Artist’s Guide to Gutta and Wax Resist Techniques, now considered “The Bible” of silk painting. Her custom fabrics have appeared on the runways of Perry Ellis, Marc Jacobs and Isaac Mizrahi. She is proud to be a featured artist of the Smithsonian Institution's exhibition of silk painting on the subject of Orchids. The exhibition is traveling among select American gardens. 

A member of the Silk Painters Guild for fine artists, Siska creates and teaches silk painting from her NJ studio. For a schedule of her classes, please visit her website: http://sissisiska.homestead.com. She is one of the foremost American voices on silk painting.