Cheri Reckers earned her BFA with honors from the Columbus College of Art & Design
and has been a professional silk painter for over 30 years. Her award-winning silk
paintings and wearable art have been exhibited nationally and internationally and
have appeared in numerous publications. Cheri has been honored with the Master Silk
Painter designation from Silk Painters International.
Cheri’s paintings are often inspired by elements of nature. Her most recent work
focuses on her fascination with seasonal rhythms and colorful textural patterns of the
plants, animals, and wide luminescent skies of the Sonoran desert surrounding her
home in the San Tan Mountains.
Painting Process
Cheri’s primary medium is fiber-reactive dyes on silk. Most of her work is created using
a “free-style” silk painting technique (painting freely onto the silk and avoiding the use
of resists or wax that are commonly utilized in traditional silk painting). Transparent dyes
are brushed directly onto the silk and layered until she achieves the desired colors,
image and design. Details are added using very fine brushes. Once the painting is
complete, the silk is steamed for permanence. Finally, the fabric is washed and can
be mounted and framed for hanging or sewn into an original garment design.
