What began those 15 years ago for a local silk-painting artist has culminated in being selected to be one of just a few artists on display for a national exhibit that's in conjunction with Washington D.C.'s famed Smithsonian Institute.

Port Angeles' Karen Sistek has been painting in one form or another for most of her life, but this just might be her greatest accomplishment as an artist.

Last October, the group Silk Painters International invited Karen and several other artists from around the world to submit a design for a 3-foot-by-9-foot banner to hang in the United States Botanic Garden Conservatory in Washington, D.C. as part of a new exhibit: "Orchids! Beauty and Beyond" in partnership with the Smithsonian Institute.

Now, if that last name looks a tad bit familiar (as in, matching the byline to this story), you'd be right. It's not often you get to write such a "flowery" piece about your mom, but this is my lucky week.

Anyway, Karen put her brain right to work on how to come up with the winning design, even taking a trip to Victoria, B.C.'s Crystal Gardens for some inspiration, where she and her mother Jane photographed several orchids.

Upon returning to Port Angeles, she put brush to silk and came up with two entries, titled "Jane Marie" in honor of her mother and "Anne Marie" in honor of her mother-in-law (or to make it easy -- both of my grandmothers.)

The submissions were going to be judged by a blue-ribbon panel of artists and flower experts. Of the dozens that were entered, only 12 were going to make the display.

Karen shipped off her two to the judges over the Thanksgiving holiday and waited for word.

It was quite the anxious time.

"I dreamt about it every night," she said. "Part of the time I'm thinking about the upcoming holidays and shopping and the kids coming home (She has a daughter, Kim, as well). But in the back of my mind, I'm always thinking, ' I wonder if-- could it be? Would they choose me?' "

Then, word finally came on Dec. 9.

A friend of hers who also submitted an entry called to tell Karen that her entry had been accepted. Karen raced to check her e-mail. Her design too had been accepted.

"I screamed in the phone," she said. "I was so excited!!!"

Not only had her "Jane Marie" design been accepted, her second submission, "Anne Marie" had been selected as first-alternate.

But she didn't have much time to celebrate. The final versions were due in four and a half weeks. Her husband Rick was already measuring the height of the ceiling in her studio even before Karen was off the phone.

Now, as you might imagine, painting something 9 feet tall could present quite a challenge, especially since the banner needed to be painted vertically, and Mom is only 5 feet, 6 inches tall. After several different attempts at painting on tables or hanging it from a ceiling, it was handy-man Rick to the rescue.

While Karen was away at an appointment the next morning, Rick built a 3-foot tall by 4-foot wide platform for Karen to climb up on and paint. The second challenge? Turns out, the only spot in their house that was tall enough to paint such a large banner was their front door entry way.

"Here I was, with the top of the banner leaning against the far corner of the ceiling, and my back to the front door," Karen said. "No one could get in or out of the house through the front door while I was painting."

Rick also hand-crafted a special metal frame to hold silk in place while Karen painted her design.

And this wasn't just free-hand painting. It had to be an exact replica of the 1-by-3 foot sample she entered, translated into the 3-by-9 foot banner.

"I had to figure out how to redraw it exactly three times larger," she said. "If one line was 7 inches on the sample, it had to be exactly 21 inches on the final banner."

In between painting, she became good friends with some of the artists that were selected, trading several e-mails back and forth providing support and sending tips that each one had discovered while painting on their own banner.

"We became fast friends," she said. "Even though our designs and techniques were different, we learned a lot sharing our trials and tribulations."

It took a full week to paint each banner, sandwiched around the Christmas holiday She finished both just in time to get it to the post office and out to D.C. by the deadline.

A few days later, her banner was hanging for all to see. It's the one on the left in the photo at the top of this story.

As a celebration, Karen and Rick flew to Washington, D.C. in late February to meet up with some of the other selected artists to see the finished product up close and personal.

"To stand together with the other artists underneath our banners hanging from the ceiling was truly an exhilarating experience," she said. "It was one of the most exciting moments of my life."

Way to go, Mom!

For More Information:

Her banner is on display with 11 others at the United States Botanic Garden Conservatory in Washington, D.C. through March 21. It's open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. It's part of an exhibit with live orchids sponsored by the Botanic Garden and the Smithsonian's Horticulture Services Division.

For more information, check out www.usbg.gov.

The banners could be sold at the exhibition, or they might go on a tour of sorts around the county, including the Silk Painting International Art Festival in Sante Fe, N.M. in July.

You can see some of Karen's other work at several Western Washington galleries, including the Class Act Gallery in LaConner, Gallery Marjuli in Ocean Shores, and the Clallam Art Gallery, Fiber Arts Gallery and Karon's Frame Center in Port Angeles. The Whimsey Gallery in Bellingham will begin carrying her art in May.

If you'd like to try your own hand at silk painting, Karen also teaches silk painting at the Peninsula Community College and holds private classes in her own studio. For more information on her classes you can e-mail her at karensistekstudio@tenforward.com.

For more information on Silk Painting International -- www.silkpainters.org
Silk Painting Festival In Sante Fe -- www.silkinsantafe.com/