Thinking in Stitches…

Shadow lines, layers and loose threads are characteristic of my work and I talk about them often – click on the tags to have a look at past images and words, or pop the words into the search box…

Stitch vocabulary or iconography such as buttonhole wheels and French knots

They are all personal reflections and my own mark making on cloth – so:

Knots feel like and represent thoughts like prayer beads

Herringbone is a journey with steps along the way

Feather represents my connection to the natural world

Buttonhole – whole thoughts or partial ones

Loose threads reach out and float, even melt into the atmosphere and connect with the viewer

I think I will photograph some close ups for the next post! The above are all from Walcot Chapel where the walls, light and space are exceptionally beautiful…

Walcot Chapel – turmeric and tea

 

Withies looking like stitches in the landscape!

Cloth drying on the line – prayer flags in my thoughts – looking through the cloth and dreaming of the tea and turmeric drifting into the atmosphere..

Table laid, piece in progress

Catching thread thoughts and fragments

Pinned gently to allow for movement, shadow and spaces to breathe!

Over the course of the week I thought about what each choice of stitch reflects – what iconography.

 

 

Turmeric and Tea

Back in May – turn back time for the story of an Artist Working Studio week at Walcot Chapel, Bath

Turmeric and Tea – a spice of healing and meditation mixed with a reviver and comforter…these scents drifting through the air as I dyed the cloth and watched it dry in a soft breeze

 An open receptive space with fellow artists which evolves through the week – the public come and go, return and interact and the various conversations with visitors and each other stimulate work and spark directions and connections – last year it was in July 

 

I had imagined Prayer Flags on these withies – but, in the spirit of responding to the place and experience, every morning as I placed them along the path they seemed enough in themselves – people smiled at the welcoming arms drawing them in. Such a joy to work with this – not to stick to predetermined plans, and take risks..

 

Catching fragments and working with a stitch vocabulary – of which more in the next post!