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.
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!
When I was little, this was a stitch I learned from my mother – as a functional stitch for hemming – the ‘web’ it creates allows for a bit of movement and ease.
This Autumn we needed some temporary warm curtains to keep out the chill and these charity shop finds are a treat – in burnt orange, they make the most of enhancing the sunshine. They were amazingly long, overlocked at the ends – so, not wanting to cut them incase they need re-using somewhere else next year or handing on, I decided to herringbone a deep hem. More warmth, and beautiful shadows – actually a 30 inch hem!
When I teach hand embroidery, I often suggest there is no right or wrong way to position your hand or to direct a stitch – creating a comfortable smooth rhythm is more important. This proved only too true for me, as I had already hung the 4 curtains – so was half wrapped up in them by the end! You can just see threads of the herringbone on top of the overlock stitch…
Some herringbone stitches – worked at varied sizes, textures and layers…
I never wore anything with quite such a deep hem as a child even though clothing with ‘plenty of room to grow into it’ was the usual and valued way of life – but I do remember catching my toes in the herringbone stitching rushing to get dressed!
Strands of thread link the pieces
Joining, and leaving space
for movement: to attune, to ease in the water
There is a film of this work on show too – in my mind’s eye it was always drifting in the sea – in the liminal space – filmed at tide turns, dusk and moonrise…
At the end of the film, moonrise
2 women, quietly rinsing a cloth
Standing in the sea
Walking the shoreline
Tide turn – the space between
Rhythm of waves flowing….
Rhythm of breath, meditation
Dawn and dusk, stitching in early morning
The pause, stilling…..
Rhythm of stitch
The embroidered buttonhole wheels are complete thoughts
Others fragmented, partially formed
The seed beads
Those are the shells, stones, tiny claws
Found objects catching my gaze, mixed on the shoreline
detail of stitched piece..
See this – here Also the Brunel Broderers blog for all artists work for Strand
The waistcoat for the Mayor – made by faeries? Whose hands worked so hard to make such exquisite beauty?
A skirt of silk dyed with turmeric, seed beads, paper bodice dyed in tea – machine and hand stitch – and winged shoulder details made of garlic bulb leaves….
detail from Suited exhibition sketchbook piece
My research took me to the V and A This was where Beatrix Potter went to draw the waistcoat for the Mayor… It also took me to the Ashmolean
In both I looked at and drew waistcoats embroidered with silk floss satin stitch flowers of breathtaking beauty and skill.
The buttonhole stitch and the satin stitch stay in my mind. They combine in a fragmented and deconstructed sample…
Uh oh – where have I been?!
Balancing….
Remember this… jeans mending piece
Well , it seems to be attracting alot of interest! I find this heartening.
It always feels natural and easy working on denims – patching, mending, stitching, embroidering, creating something with a deeper beauty whilst protecting it, saving it from falling apart. It has lead a full life, shows the signs, the places of strain as well as tears.
So – in looking, suddenly I notice the full subtle colours of the threads, the softness of the cloth through wear. I want to hold on to this.
To back the tears with bursts of colour, to stitch the layers with rhythm and balance
and add something.
I want to thank someone special too – for her inspiration, and a practical note about blanket stitch! Have a look at http://daintytime.net/2012/12/15/faq-mending-binding/
Thanks Sherri Lynn!
keep breathing, keep stitching!
a way through will become clear!
5 brooches – embellished with stitches with beautiful names
french knots, bullion knots, raised chain band, herringbone, buttonhole
beads to catch the eye and light..
boostitch 