There seems to be a lot going on in the world of textile art this year. In August, Silk Painters International (SPIN), the North American Guild, will be hosting their three day conference in Santa Fe - we look forward to seeing some pictures of that when they become available. In recognition of the wonderful talent that there is in the United States, we feature three great US silk painters in our online gallery - Carter Smith - Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey - Susan Louise Moyer.

Our silk painting colleagues in Belgium, had an exhibition in May in Overijse, near Brussels, and we have a report on this on the EVENTS page. Habotai are already planning their next event in Antwerp 2009.

We also have a report from the German silk painting organisation, Kunstverein Seide which held an exhibition in June in Karlsruhe. In England, the Guild of Silk Painters occupied their usual stand at the popular 'Living Crafts' show in Hatfield, Hertfordshire where Tessa Barnes and friends spent several days introducing adults and children to the pleasures of painting on silk. The South Birmingham branch of the Guild, together with the Staffordshire and Shropshire Branch, have announced plans and dates for the next UK Summer Silk Art Festival - go to the EVENTS page for more information about this too.

Go to our JOURNAL page to view extracts of the current issue of the Guild of Silk Painters journal which features work by Osvalda Teiser, originally from Lithuania but now residing in the UK. Leonard Thompson generously shares his knowledge with us by decribing how he achieves the effects in his flower paintings. Leonard is also featured in the SHOWCASE section of the website which is a larger gallery space for invited members of the Guild. I continue to share my passion for Japanese silk painting techniques with a four-page article on resist techniques, I also review a dvd on Shibori produced by Studio Galli. you can read this and watch a video clip by going to the BOOKS section of the website and looking in the Multi-media section.

On the subject of Shibori, I have a new book coming out in September called Shibori: Designs & Techniques published by Search Press. Again, if you go to the BOOKS section and then RELATED BOOKS you can view three or four sample pages. Our CLASSES page has been replenished with details of lots of classes, workshops and courses for silk painting throughout the UK. If you do book a course, don't forget to tell them where you heard about it.

I hope you enjoy using this website and that it both informs and inspires you. Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions please email us at website@silkpainters-guild.co.uk

Following my enforced inactivity at the beginning of the year I am now delighted to be mobile again. I had a very warm welcome when I was able attend a meeting of Wendy Mackinnon's lively and talented North London group at the Creative Design Studio. And on a recent trip to Scotland I was able to meet up with Agnes Sutherland and Elizabeth Souter of the Glasgow Branch. It was wonderful to spend five hours talking Silk Painting over numerous pots of tea and Fish and Chips! We were totally oblivious of our surroundings in picturesque Edinburgh.

I attended the launch of the Eastern Region Textile Forum (E.R.T.F). This group which includes Textile Artists from Cambridge, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolkand Suffolk aims to forge links with edcation, industry and other regional forums, provide exhibition opportunities and raise the profile of Textile Art. A committee was elected to discuss theway forward for the group with topics including funding, advertising and a high profile exhibition. Watch this space!

I would strongly recommend a trip to the Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green, Herts, to see the newly set up exhibition of his textiles which, although rarely on Silk, I found truly inspirational. It is also possible to visit 'Hoglands' the house where he lived with his wife until their deaths. This was purchased in 2004 and fully restored by the Foundation. I was bowled over to see a small Rodin bronze on the coffee table in the living room, a Picasso sketch on the wall in the kitchen and a miscellany of other treasures.

A date for your Diary is our A.G.M. on Sunday December 7th at Great Stony in Chipping Ongar, Essex. A sandwich lunch will be provided and Yvonne Bell has kindly offered to show us some of her work and talk about 'Silk For Sundays'. Booking details will be given in the next copy of the Journal. I do hope you will be able to attend.

We urgently need to find a replacement for Dave Castle, our Membership Secretary. Dave has done a brilliant job but wants to relinquish it in the near future. The Membership Secretary needs to have computer skills but does not necessarily have to be a member of the Guild nor even be a Silk Painter. Dave is willing to discuss the role with anyone who is interested and will train his successor in the use of the program and database which he has set up.

Finally, I would like to thank Jackie Whiting for the superb job she makes of putting together all the articles and information to create our colourful and informative journal.