Slowly finding my mojo again - I've felt a little lacking in creativity this summer, I've done some sketching and a bit of painting but not as much as usual - its been quite a hard summer and my energy levels have been low and focused on family issues rather then art stuff.
I decided that I really needed some art therapy to lift me out of the doldrums so I checked out the Row by Row patterns I picked up when we did our road trip around Canada and North America last summer. The theme for 2017 was 'On the Go' and I felt this was really fitting aa we were on an epic road trip...
I wanted to some something 'portable' ie something I could sit in front of mindless television and get on with rather then being attached to the sewing machine so I decided to tackle one of the patterns as a hand rendered piece and immerse myself in a bit of slow stitching - always good for the soul.
I dug out the patterns (16 in all) and looked for inspiration - I decided it needed to be simple to start with so out came the elephants - and then I dug out the embroidery threads and set about using a jumbled mess I had always intended to sort out. Sorting and salvaging threads that were destined to be thrown away was very satisfying and also therapeutic and gave me lots of lovely colours and silks to work with.
It didn't take long to get into a binge watching scenario of alternate Jessica Jones and Bake off episodes (very disparate) while stitching away to create a flower power elephant panel.
I researched the few embroidery books I have collected over the last couple of years and played about using satin stitch, blanket stitch, herring bone and various yarns and threads. I wanted vibrant colour and lots of it - I wasn't really thinking ahead about whether it would fit into a larger multi panel piece and really if it didn't it wasn't a problem it could be a stand alone piece.
I've been researching Frieda Kahlo as I have a trip planned to the exhibition at the V&A early next month and her use of colour definitely influenced my colour choices
Its bright and cheerful and allegedly represents Tillamook Oregon - where circuses were often passing through.. I went for a more tropical theme rather then circus but the idea started with the Tillamook pattern.
I felt inspired and went back to explore more patterns... I really enjoyed the fact that this was entirely hand rendered and made out of the scrap basket and even the yarns were pretty much reclaimed - I set off on another panel continuing with the vibrant colours and hand applique.
This time I picked a pattern from Thermopolis, Wyoming. The people in this quilt shop were the friendliest of all the places we went to and had a fantastic selection of quilts on show. Most were very 'American' quite twee and flowery but they also had a beautiful vintage wedding ring quilt from the 1920s.
Their pattern was quirky and a bit more complicated the some of the others so I felt I had moved up a notch in my creative journey. It represented the fact that Thermopolis isn't very big and most of it is a railway line running through, and has endless freight trains chugging along - some several miles long. I like the clever juxtaposition of the sewing machine and iron with the coal cart carrying a fabric stash...
Again completely hand appliqued, embroidered and made from scraps and reclaimed threads.
The two panels complement each other nicely and I am about to embark on a third one hoping to continue with the lively colour scheme and hand rendering... I've still got 6 episodes of Jessica Jones and at least two series of Bake off to catch up on!!
I decided that I really needed some art therapy to lift me out of the doldrums so I checked out the Row by Row patterns I picked up when we did our road trip around Canada and North America last summer. The theme for 2017 was 'On the Go' and I felt this was really fitting aa we were on an epic road trip...
I wanted to some something 'portable' ie something I could sit in front of mindless television and get on with rather then being attached to the sewing machine so I decided to tackle one of the patterns as a hand rendered piece and immerse myself in a bit of slow stitching - always good for the soul.
I dug out the patterns (16 in all) and looked for inspiration - I decided it needed to be simple to start with so out came the elephants - and then I dug out the embroidery threads and set about using a jumbled mess I had always intended to sort out. Sorting and salvaging threads that were destined to be thrown away was very satisfying and also therapeutic and gave me lots of lovely colours and silks to work with.
It didn't take long to get into a binge watching scenario of alternate Jessica Jones and Bake off episodes (very disparate) while stitching away to create a flower power elephant panel.I researched the few embroidery books I have collected over the last couple of years and played about using satin stitch, blanket stitch, herring bone and various yarns and threads. I wanted vibrant colour and lots of it - I wasn't really thinking ahead about whether it would fit into a larger multi panel piece and really if it didn't it wasn't a problem it could be a stand alone piece.
I've been researching Frieda Kahlo as I have a trip planned to the exhibition at the V&A early next month and her use of colour definitely influenced my colour choices
Its bright and cheerful and allegedly represents Tillamook Oregon - where circuses were often passing through.. I went for a more tropical theme rather then circus but the idea started with the Tillamook pattern.
I felt inspired and went back to explore more patterns... I really enjoyed the fact that this was entirely hand rendered and made out of the scrap basket and even the yarns were pretty much reclaimed - I set off on another panel continuing with the vibrant colours and hand applique.
This time I picked a pattern from Thermopolis, Wyoming. The people in this quilt shop were the friendliest of all the places we went to and had a fantastic selection of quilts on show. Most were very 'American' quite twee and flowery but they also had a beautiful vintage wedding ring quilt from the 1920s.
Their pattern was quirky and a bit more complicated the some of the others so I felt I had moved up a notch in my creative journey. It represented the fact that Thermopolis isn't very big and most of it is a railway line running through, and has endless freight trains chugging along - some several miles long. I like the clever juxtaposition of the sewing machine and iron with the coal cart carrying a fabric stash...
Again completely hand appliqued, embroidered and made from scraps and reclaimed threads.
The two panels complement each other nicely and I am about to embark on a third one hoping to continue with the lively colour scheme and hand rendering... I've still got 6 episodes of Jessica Jones and at least two series of Bake off to catch up on!!
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