1-17 through 1-19

 "New Box of Prismacolors" 1-17

 "Dude Smoking Outside of the Bean" 1-18

 "Maggie doing yoga in the kitchen" 1-19

The box of markers isn't a great page. I was quite excited about the markers but linear shapes don't excite me. Also, I think I'm done trying metallic thread. I love the second two pages. Just isolating one interesting line is my favorite technique. And I think these are successful because the lines also highlight the action in the image. I think these two are actually my favorite in the book so far. Including the 12 days I haven't posted yet.

1/14 - 1/16

 Maggie in Fedora @ Honor's Apt 1-14-11

 Kate's chair during soup dinner 1-15-11

 Kickball in Forsyth 1-16-11

 

It's harder to draw when my subjects are moving. Maggie is an expressive talker and was telling a story. The kickballers obviously would not stand still. That chair was the perfect muse!

1-11 through 1-13

Rory and Care Bear @ Maggie's

CAD Class

Tape Measurer and Felt @ Studio

These three aren't really my favorites. I think it's the color threads that I used. The Care Bear is a ratty old bluish grey from years of love but the stitches just don't stand out. The hair is fine. I wish I had embroidered Jeremy's face peeking out over the computer screen though. That's all I see in every class. And in the last one was done with metallic silver thread. I thought it would stand out more. At least the back looks cool like a constellation. These are definitely all good examples of how cool the back sides of the embroidery are.

1-8 through 1-10

"Aurora's First walk in Forsyth" 1-8-11

"All Day in the Studio" 1-9-11
I accidentally skipped a page so I stitched them together to hide the blank one. Sad, since I'm really loving the blank backs of the embroidery so much. But there is something cool about peeking between these stitched pages to see the hidden stitch.
"Pouring Down Rain on the Porch" 1-10-11

These pages were all focused on highlighting a certain, central component of the picture. In later pages, I focus more on one random line whose quality I appreciate. It is interesting to look at all of them and see which method I chose to employ on that day.

A New Year, A New Direction

Hey everyone. As you are all well aware, I have stopped working on A Year in Stitches. The project in its original incarnation just didn't fit into my graduate work the way I had hoped. However, in my Fiber and Fabric Exploration class, we were asked to take on a daily practice. This is the creation of some form of art every day for the entire quarter. Some students are doing meditative drawing, performing songs in public, or making origami balloons. I chose to document a single moment of every day with a quick gesture drawing in a sketchbook. I carry this book everywhere I go and am ready to sketch when I see something that inspires me. Later, I return to each page to go over a line or image with a bit of embroidery. Sometimes it is just the quality of an individual line that begs me to stitch over it. Sometimes I wish to emphasize a significant item in the sketch. I'm loving watching my book grow and seeing the backside of each embroidery juxtaposed against the next day's image. Hopefully you will enjoy them too.

I started this book on January 7. For the next few days I will post a couple of images each day. Once I'm caught up, I'll try and post at least every other day. I think that spending less time on each piece and letting them stand on their own without copious narration will help me be more successful with this new take on my project.

The cover of my sketch book.


"Wine at Kate's" 1-7-11

I think it's so cool to see the explanation of each sketch beneath the back side of embroidery, floating there out of context.

Stay tuned for the rest of the book!