Almost done with this one… some of the stitches need better anchoring, because it was hard to control the tension pulling through fabric that had been gessoed.
The little single chain crochet that is couched on the edge was tinted in a pot with onion skins and one lone black walnut shell which appeared in the kitchen the morning I had the pot going.
What I notice — There is a tension pairing marks made by me (the script, the stitches) and ‘found’ marks, as printed on commercial fabrics (those little vegetal shapes — which look like a primitive form of writing and those pink upstrokes on the linen, which I repeated with my black marker). What I want to see now is a piece that ONLY has marks/writing made by me.
Interesting that you see/feel a tension —i think these share a very journalistic approach, almost a traveller’s diary, with photos and writing, done by someone who *collects* images then annotates them—NOT a bad thing, but i look forward to you creating your own images with your own poetry/prose–
i think when we use “commercial” prints, even universal symbols or shapes, they are things already “said” and putting your interpretation on top isn’t always easy or clearly defined, unless there is a definite statement being made with/by them
I have always capitalized on the prints on commercial fabrics to add narrative elements… but with this new direction, they are feeling a little like clutter, so I see why you say what you say.
I love how you are putting a touch of you in every little bit, whether by pen, stain or stitch. Great frayed edges and text marks!
i’m liking these little “stitcheries” very much. i have many similar pieces tucked away. i never knew where to go with them and they didn’t ever seem quite finished…
what are you going do with yours?
thanks, Robin and Yolie — I like the frayed edges, too… ‘stitcheries’ is a great name, yolie, thanks for that… and I don’t know what I’ll do with them yet– I may find a way to hang them on dried stalks — I’ve used hosta to good effect before…
I am enjoying watching these pieces evolve… they feel like bits of stories in another language long ago forgotten, but somehow familiar.
i hope they keep evolving… to look at writing as WRITING and not for what it says IS to touch on something quite old, I suppose.
Wow! I came over from the SoulCollage facilitators page. Beautiful work!!!
Thanks, Kathleen… your recent post lined up so much with another blog I follow, I want to direct you to it — cathy cullis, on my sidebar. Look forward to seeing more of your stuff!
Hi Dee,
I just ran into your blog and love it! Love the stitched pieces above. Very interesting, creative use of commercial fabric……I’ve got to follow your blog now! Glad that I found it. Thank you for sharing…..Sondra
thanks very much Sondra, not just for the comment, but for a link to your blog, which I will now follow — love what you are doing with surface design!