Poshaq Silks
hand painted by Joyita Ghose
I am following my passion and listening to my inner voice every step of the way, as a silk artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Painting on silk is my passion, I love creating new designs and color stories. There is a rhythm with the brush, the dye and the fabric, which is unparalleled in any other art form. Silk absorbs the dye each time a little differently, because of the weave, the weather, the dye or perhaps because of artistic temperament.
Never having had any formal training in art and painting, I have developed my own sense of design, style and color. Forever painting, doodling, behind books, on scraps of paper, I did not realize how much my art was a part of me, till a near death experience left me bed ridden at age 23. With nothing to do except wait for diagnosis, hospital visits, long hospital stays: one day some fabric, brushes and paints were pushed into my hands by my mother to keep my mind into color and art rather than on my dreary existence. I believe art and colors had a huge reason for my speedy recovery and making me embark on a line of work I had no experience or training in. Eventually, I got formally trained in Fashion Design at West Valley College, Saratoga, and Brighton College of Technology, UK. In 2005 I created POSHAQ, a line of exclusively hand painted wearable art.
I paint on silk scarves, ponchos, kimono blouses for women and silk ties for men. The demography I work with is mostly young, urban sophisticated working women, or moms, middle-aged to older as well as plus size women. Currently, I sell my product through the annual California Art and Wine Festivals, and juried Art shows. I have an appreciative customer base in the Bay area, many of whom returned back every year Pre Pandemic to see and purchase my new design creations. I also sell through some boutiques in California, Florida, Virginia, the Virgin Islands and other places in the country. I try to keep my designs primarily one size, except for the skirts and camisoles. All the designs have extra large sizes too. My intention is to make a woman look beautiful in the vibrant colors I choose, and comfortable in the flowy garment style. Most of the blouses are multifunctional, and can be worn and draped in several different ways. Always keeping in mind, eye color, hair color and skin complexion, my color choices are guided to appeal to a large variety of women.
POSHAQ wearables are very popular for cruise wear, travel holidays, weddings and also for work, just about anywhere you want to look special and different. Many women executives wear their scarves to their conferences and boardrooms. They have often been complimented and appreciated for the POSHAQ scarves they have worn.
My silk patterns are inspired from flowers, butterflies, nature, and mythological art from various tribes in India, Africa and South America. A strong sense of awareness of nature permeates through my art and a deep appreciation of ancient folk art imbues my consciousness with subtle patterns of thought coming alive in mysterious ways. I create each piece individually.
After painting with resist and silk dyes, I color set them in very high heat for eight hours in my professional grade steamer, so the colors are made permanent and the final product is completely hand washable in cold water, or dry cleanable. The fabric I choose is a very high quality silk, and does not wrinkle when worn.
Most importantly each POSHAQ piece is unique and proudly hand " Made in America".
During the Pandemic years, while it was incredibly tough, I started teaching art over zoom to kids and adults. Created a beautiful collection of 3 layered silk masks to coordinate with scarves. I also painted on canvas, wood and created silk art for wall decor exhibiting with other talented artists in San Francisco galleries.
Email: poshaq_silks@yahoo.com
Website: www.poshaqsilks.com