Hand Stitching
Hand stitching is slow. I appreciate the unhurried pace. It’s challenging, as well. Sometimes as I create a piece I feel it needs a bold stroke of color, which, if I were painting, I would create instantly with brush and pigment. With hand stitching I must cut it from fabric or stitch it slowly across the piece. It is a process that forces me to think and feel beyond impulsiveness. To sit patiently with each stitch as it unfurls and each scrap of fabric as it joins the composition. It’s a slow, thoughtful conversation.
I have no past experience with embroidery or sewing methods. I have much experience with printmaking, painting, and collage, so when I first met with Janet, Sarah, and Kari and the suggestion of a collaboration using only fabric and stitching was presented, I was both wary and curious. That was over a year ago. In that time I have grown into this new way of expressing myself through their encouragement, shared materials, and shared knowledge. Hand stitching has become a daily ritual of sorts. A time that I carve out to sit quietly, head bowed and let color and texture tell a story. My pieces are influenced by Aboriginal art, nature, birds, home, fear, whimsy, the joy of circles. Frayed edges, holes, stains, knotted threads - all these “blemishes” become intriguing characteristics of the piece; the appeal that draws me in and makes the piece more relatable. I have found a new medium that speaks to me.
I have no past experience with embroidery or sewing methods. I have much experience with printmaking, painting, and collage, so when I first met with Janet, Sarah, and Kari and the suggestion of a collaboration using only fabric and stitching was presented, I was both wary and curious. That was over a year ago. In that time I have grown into this new way of expressing myself through their encouragement, shared materials, and shared knowledge. Hand stitching has become a daily ritual of sorts. A time that I carve out to sit quietly, head bowed and let color and texture tell a story. My pieces are influenced by Aboriginal art, nature, birds, home, fear, whimsy, the joy of circles. Frayed edges, holes, stains, knotted threads - all these “blemishes” become intriguing characteristics of the piece; the appeal that draws me in and makes the piece more relatable. I have found a new medium that speaks to me.
