PLAIDS
Several years ago, I began working in Adobe Illustrator, creating compositions with simple stripes and squares: “plaids” that used implied transparency. I worked on a strict grid measured such that each stripe or square was scaled to the grid of the fabric on which I would embroider – 12 stitches = 1”.
Early on I worked with thread-count embroidery (count the threads in the cloth, take a stitch then repeat ad infinitum). I returned to this technique in 2018. Translating digital color to a reduced thread palette is challenging. The embroideries are very time consuming (even if I don’t make counting mistakes and have to pull stitches out and re-do them), something that happens more often than I’d like.
GRIDS AND GUIDES
These embroideries are visual puzzles. To prepare, I painted on silk with quick strokes. I then sewed a linear grid by machine using the sewing machine foot as a guide. Early pieces have a square grid. In later works, I added random diagonal lines that divide units. The hand stitching began into each unit using a satin stitch. The later grids have more variety in unit size and shape and the paths become more complex.
I chose my thread without a color plan. When I reached a diagonal, I changed the stitch direction. Depth occurs as colors weave over and under each other. The process is a balance of calculation and spontaneity.
COLLAGE
These embroideries relate to black and white collage drawings from natural forms. First I transferred the outlines onto painted silk. In some cases, I’ve also added acrylic paint. I embroidered into the outlines using a variety of traditional stitches.
For the collage embroideries, I cut, and fused embroidered sections together, then machine stitched these sections in an patchwork style. Some of the fused edges are raw. In some cases, I’ve also added acrylic paint.
