White House Christmas

(Photo from AP)

Sorry for falling off of the face of the Earth for the last few months. I thought for sure I'd be able to keep up with this project during grad school but, as it turns out, school is a lot of work! This past quarter was absolutely insane. I was constantly researching, writing, drawing, painting, sewing, embroidering, printing, and going to lectures. It did not leave much time for extra curricular artwork.

I figured I should post something now that the blog has been mentioned in the Free-Lance Star, Fredericksburg's local paper. ( http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/122010/12242010/595995/index_html?page=1 )So I'm turning the focus of the blog from my Year in Stitches project to just a documentation of all of the artwork I've been doing in school. Hopefully it will also still include AYIS style pieces from time to time.

But now on to the real reason everyone came here today: I designed and embroidered the tree skirt for the White House Blue Room Christmas tree!! While there are 19 trees in the White Hose, the Blue Room tree is the official tree and the center piece of all the holiday decorations. The theme this year was "Simple Gifts" which, according to the White House, "calls for Americans to reflect and celebrate the everyday gifts and blessings that surround us - in family, nature, music, and food." Ricki Dwyer and Holly Sexton, both seniors in the Fibers department, were chosen to design the ornaments. I was eager to help Ricki with her portion of the ornaments because they involved free motion embroidery, a technique about which I am passionate. Because of the work I did on her ornaments, I was asked to submit a proposal when it was decided at the last minute that SCAD should create the tree skirt as well. The powers that be like my design and I set out with only 48 hours to construct an 18 foot wide circle skirt with 50 feet of six inch high embroidered text, the lyrics to the Obamas' favorite song, "America the Beautiful."

It was a grueling amount of work. Luckily, the girls in the Fibers department at SCAD are all so awesome and I had a lot of volunteers to help me. I got to focus mainly on the embroidery and let other students construct the skirt with the pattern I had made. The materials we used are 100% wool felt in white and taupe, and cotton and Lurex thread.

So here are some pics I pulled from the AP wire as well as some that I took during the whirlwind construction process.

(Photo from AP)

We embroidered the text on banners of felt that we hand stitched onto the skirt. I wanted the banners to be dimensional and look like they are flowing around the circumference.

Between the ornaments and the skirt, I sat in front of this machine for the better part of a week.
We spread the skirt out over 5 large studio tables to hand stitch the banners. This was at 1 am and we wanted to play under it like a blanket fort. One day I'll tell my grandchildren that I made a blanket fort out of the White House Christmas Tree skirt.



Both my grandmother and my art history professor insisted that I work my signature into the skirt somehow. I attached my initials on the underside of the top layer.
This is the Virginia ham ornament that I embroidered. We named a lot of the ornaments, this one is Franklin. Isn't he sweet?
This is the only I could find of the Obamas in front of the tree. Sorry it's so small. Checkout www.scad.edu for the official SCAD press release and a slightly larger version of this pic.

Below is a time lapse video of the tree being decorated. It's really cool and you really get an idea of how insane the skirt is when you see numerous volunteers installing it at the end.

28/52 and 29/52

Alright, I'm slowly but surely catching up with all of these missed blog posts.

The first piece here comes from the weekend of August 21-22, known in the great city of RVA as Best Friend's Day. BFD is an event each year, signaling the end of summer, where hipsters, gutter punks, metalheads, weirdos, and innocent bystanders come together at Hadad's Lake for 3 things: booze, bands, and swimming in the most unsanitary water ever. Their website might explain things better than me. http://www.bestfriendsday.net/

Anyway, 3000 people converged on this "lake" and we had a blast. I brought along my trusty vuvuzela from the World Cup and it made its way around our pavilion making annoying noises and also making an excellent beer bong. Unfortunately, it was too good at being annoying and was thrown from a moving vehicle (by a friend who demands I always recycle) on the way home. I'm posting an amazing video by my friend, Karen Siefert that illustrates beautifully how awesome the day was. Now, it won't really make my mom and dad proud so if you know them or are them, just scroll down to the art.

Best Friend's Day from Karen Seifert on Vimeo.

Also on BFD weekend, I had my going away party at my friend Jenn Ward's awesome bar, Strange Matter. ( http://www.strangematterrva.com ) They closed the restaurant just for me and we filled it with my friends. It was a really good chance to say goodbye to Richmond.

This is the PBR tower that we built on the bar before it got too high and toppled. (photo by @partyshark) And Mom and Dad, there were about fifty people there. I assure you this wasn't the work of just my roommates and I. (I'm not your youngest son, after all)

So, here's the piece. A vuvuzela, artificially dyed water, a hot pink border, and a tower of PBR cans. A perfect summary of the weekend.

Last week's piece doesn't have quite so much backstory. On September 2nd, I moved from Richmond, VA to Savannah, GA to pursue my Master's in Textile Design at SCAD. I was so caught up in the packing and goodbyes that I didn't really take many pics. So here's the map of my journey down I-95. My dad; his friend, Roy; and my friend, Stephanie Breijo, all accompanied me for the move. It all went off without a hitch and I am so in love with my new home. The next post will have pictures and stories of my first week here.

26/52 and 27/52

Hey guys, sorry I've been MIA. Things have been crazy whilst planning for the big move to Savannah and I lost my camera for a while and was unable to document.

So I guess we're about 3 weeks behind, eh? That weekend was the Watermelon Festival in Carytown, where I live. The street is shut down, all the shops open up, and bands and vendors line the street. It's always sweltering hot and there's always a ton of watermelon. It's one of the biggest events in Richmond each year. This year, my friend Lacey happened to be in town for her sister's wedding shower and had time to make an appearance in Carytown. She moved to NYC after undergrad to design panties and I don't get to see her as much as I would like. This was the last chance I had to see her before I left for grad school so I thought it fitting to remember it in stitches.

Not exactly the most pleased with this. I feel like my face looks a bit funny. But it looks nice on the wall with all of the other pieces, so I'll keep it anyway.

This next piece is an image of Anthony's new dog, Bracket. There was a lot of drama surrounding this little guy. Anthony was on a waiting list at the SPCA for a pug or pug mix of some sort. He got a call two weeks ago saying that this little Pug/Cairn Terrier mix was available and then, unbeknownst to me and Nicole, he went and met the dog and put down a deposit. So Nicole and I freaked out a little bit about the immediacy of this new addition to the house and Anthony called the SPCA and told them he wouldn't be adopting him. But then Nicole met the dog and loved him and I caved while looking at his cute little pictures and told Anthony to get him anyway.

So this is the new dog, and he's just as adorable and cuddly as he is obnoxious and yappy. He's the perfect dog for Anthony (with the worst name ever. Blame Jenn Ward) and he is curled up at my feet chewing a bone right now.
This bone is way too big for his tiny little head but it's just too damn cute. I had to embroider it. Just a simple backstitch with a chain stitch border. I'm way too busy these days for anything fancy. But I think he is super adorable in this piece.

25/52

Another late post. Sorry! I find that when I'm not completely in love with a piece, I hold off on posting it until I feel that I have fixed what I don't like about it. I'm still not 100% on this one, but I like it more now. And the subject matter is awesome.

Last week (well, almost two weeks ago now that I've waited so long!), I went to Busch Gardens with Anthony, Brittany, and Christine. Normally we would spend an entire day there, but this time, we just all decided to leave work early and go ride coasters til the park closed. Oh the joy of having the Fun Card. Here is a photo of Brittany, Anthony, and I trying on ridiculous hats at the $10 or less store in "Germany." The first photo we took with Brit's "Retro Camera" application on her Droid completely blacked out Anthony. That camera is racist. Just like the coaster cameras at night that just show a dark spot if you're too black.

And yes, we're drinking Bud Lite Lime. Don't hate. It's the only beer that tastes like Sprite.

The original concept of the embroidery was going to be to embroider the ridiculous hats. I still wish I had done that and maybe I still will when I go back and do more work on each piece at the end of the project. However, due to time constraints, I embroidered what was originally going to just be a drawn background. Hi-C Orange Lava Burst. When we left Bushy G's (as we affectionately call it), we stopped at McDonald's and got a ridiculous amount of food and four huge cups of Orange Drank. It was delicious and Brittany even had me go back inside to get her a refill. After sending about 87 Hi-C tweets to Twitter, it's become an official obsession and everyone knows it now.

"Bushy G's"

24/52

This weeks imagery comes courtesy of WAKA Kickball. This summer, I joined an adult kickball league for the first time. My friends have been playing for a few years now and I've always wanted to join a team. I never seemed to have the time or money, but seeing as how this is my last summer in Richmond, I decided to do it, no matter what. Our team's name is Sun's Out Gun's Out and as of right now, we are undefeated. Granted, we've only played 4 games so far, but I still think it's impressive.

Occasionally, the league has theme nights where everyone is expected to play in costume. Last week, the theme was "Gladiators and Goddesses". Our team decided to interpret that as "American Gladiators" instead and went all out in spandex and sweatbands. This is me and my teammate, Hallie, at Mulligan's, our sponsor bar, after our double header. I sewed red and blue insets into a wife beater and we both coincidentally wore the same pair of Captain America underwear from Target.

I went back to working with sequins on this piece. It just seemed like American Gladiators needed something shiny and tacky. I even wore the underwear while I stitched it. I know the stitch work isn't anything amazing but I was having a bit of a creative blockage. Maybe it's because I've been so caught up with watching the last season of LOST all week that I can't think of anything else. I guess this will just have to help prepare all you loyal followers for more minimal stitching once my course load in grad school gets intense in September. Until then, please enjoy me looking like an idiot in my underwear:

"American Gladiators"

23/52

If any of my friends have been living under a rock since June, then they wouldn't know that I am moving to Savannah, Georgia in September to attend grad school at SCAD. Fortunately for you, if you're reading my blog, you probably already know and you've probably started preparing yourself for the idea of a Michael-Birch-free Virginia.

This past week, I took a trip down south with Anthony and my mother to check out the campus and find an apartment. Everyone has been telling me how much I will LOVE Savannah and they were so right. It is the most beautiful city ever. The old Victorian architecture and cobblestone roads are amazing. And there is a little square park on just about every other block.

The school is amazing too. I got a tour of the facilities in the Fibers department. The building has just been renovated and all of the equipment is brand new and state of the art. The work spaces are huge and beautiful and I am so excited to get to work on new designs.

In the heart of Savannah is the huge Forsyth Park. At the top of it is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks (besides Paula Deen). The Forsyth Park Fountain is magnificent and I wanted to make sure to see it on this visit. It's covered with herons and swans and mermen and has water shooting out in every direction. It actually reminds me a bit of a more awesome version of the fountain in Monroe Park in Richmond.

My hands-down favorite part of Savannah is all of the Spanish moss. Since I was little, there was always something about Spanish moss that really moved and inspired me. I only saw it in once in person at a friends house in the Outer Banks. Now, I'll have a chance to see it hangin from almost ever tree in the city I'll call home for the next two years. I can't wait.
And here is this week's piece. The Forsyth Fountain framed in Spanish moss. I actually took a really cool picture of Anthony and my mom in front of it but it came out a bit too blurry to use. Luckily, it gave me a chance to do another piece incorporating non-human imagery. I have to be careful not to just fill the wall with snapshots of friends and instead make sure that each piece is still a work of art.

I tried embroidering with transparent thread to represent the water. It would have been a really cool idea but it was such a hassle to work with all for a result that was barely visible. Hopefully I'll figure out a better technique later in the project.

"Forsyth Fountain"

21/52 and 22/52

Another double upload! I've actually had these done for a while but was waiting for a free minute to post them. My birthday last week was very time consuming so I did both of these this week.

21/52 is from the Worn Again Fashion Show on July 2nd. The premise of the show is that the organizers give each designer a bag of old clothes and we have a month to turn them into something awesome. I locked out and got some really cool pieces in my bag. This is the first outfit I made for Liz. The jacket is made from a pair of little boy's jeans cut into strips and then pieced together. The sleeves are from an old hideous pirate style shirt. On top of the shoulders, there is some cool, intense beading from a 70s wedding dress. The dress's bodice is made from a gold leather skirt. The skirt is a pair of yoga pants. The zipper came from a punk kid's denim vest and the straps are strips of a red t-shirt. The sequins on the side are also from the wedding dress.

Liz looked amazing in the outfit and it got a really good response from the audience and judges. We find out on August 6th who the winner of the show is. I hope it's me!!

This is Chris wearing my second outfit. This one I wanted to just be fun and totally insane. The Jacket is made mainly from a little girl's purple winter coat. I added denim from the punk kid's vest and a random hood from another coat. The white hood was in the bag without the rest of the coat. The hoods made really cool sleeves. I studded the sleeves with the studs from the punk vest. The shorts are made from the pillowcase that the clothes came in. It's trimmed with the same t-shirt from which Liz's straps were made.

The entire time I was making this outfit, I thought it was ridiculous and would never make it into the show. But when the day came and I put it on Chris with the hair and makeup, it actually turned out to be pretty freaking cool.

The stage had cool decorations on it made from the pages of old books. They were cool and I used the motif in this week's embroidery.
Just like with Chris' outfit, I wasn't so sure about this piece until I saw the finished product. I really like the embroidery. And it's always fun to work with seed beads. All of the beads and sequins are from the old wedding dress. The only thing I'm not so sure about is how I drew Liz's face. The red marker I used for her lipstick bled a little too much and it looks weird now. Oops! Oh well, I still like it.

"Worn Again"

For my birthday week, I had grand plans for doing a piece of art that was all about me. I know I feature myself a lot in these pieces but this was the one time I could be completely and totally unapologetically narcissistic. But every once in a while I take a picture that is so awesome that I have no choice but to change my mind completely. This shot was taken at Busch Gardens. The B-52s were playing a free concert there on the day after my birthday so I decided months ago that I just had to be there. At the last minute, my friends Colin, Christine, Brit, Raechel, and Bill decided to come too.

On DaVinci's Cradle, we all sat across from each other in the middle rows so we could see each others' reactions. The ride keeps us sitting flat but spins around in a huge circle. It's hard to explain other than saying it is awesome. As soon as the ride started, Christine got completely disoriented and started freaking out. I don't think she was prepared for the intense movement and the sudden changing of direction. The faces she made were absolutely hysterical. Everyone else was laughing so hard it hurt. Raechel couldn't even look at her. The face in this photo isn't even the best of her faces but it is still amazing. I posted it on Facebook and Twitter and people have been talking about it for a week. So naturally it had to be embroidered! I'm sure she hates it and the fact that it's embroidered, but seriously, how could I not? Look at her!

It was really hard getting the expression just right but I think I came pretty close. I didn't get too detailed with the embroidery because gold thread is a bitch to work with. And also because I had to do two in one week.

"Freakout"

8"x10"