I have never really considered myself as an embroiderer, probably because, as a schoolgirl in Trinidad, I can remember my embarrasment in the sewing class when the teacher looked at my embroidery stitches and told me I sewed like a cobbler. Put me off showing any sewing I did for my dolls for years! In high school in Melbourne, Australia, I was lucky enough to have a very adventurous art department teaching me. We tried natural dyeing, Jacobean style embroidery, ceramics, papier mache, weaving and spinning, amongst other arts and crafts, and I gained the courage to mix my techniques. However, I still didn't ever feel as in control and as "perfect" in what I did as the other girls, plus, I never really stood out in any particular area, so my lack of confidence meant I focussed on languages and literature at university rather than doing an art course. In hindsight, I think this was a good thing as I got the chance to try all sorts of different arts and crafts simply out of the love of making things and without the pressure of assessment and comparisons. Plus, because I didn't initially get taught by a specialist, I never learned to follow rules, and therefore expanded my embroidery on to various types of fabric, paper, cardboard and felt, using different sorts of embroidery materials, and both using a sewing machine and a needle.
In spite of the early humiliation I had as an embroiderer, throughout my life, I have been encouraged by others to extend my skills and gain confidence in what I do. In my life as "a mum" in Melbourne, I was a member of a group called Stitch and Bitch, and one friend taught us all lots of embroidery stitches after doing a class in wool embroidery. As a result, I gained a lot more confidence in embroidery. This piece was done after another friend showed me how to paint and draw on fabric, then embroider the result.
Another friend encouraged me to do a patchwork class with her and I learned the basics of quilting. Still another friend discovered Kaffe Fassett's needlepoints with me and we both drew on canvases and then stitched them encouraged by his work. She made the most wonderful carpet bag and cushions. I made cushions and bought old pieces of furniture to upholster with my canvases.
In Brisbane, other friends taught me how to dye paper using plants after doing a workshop with Sandra Brown. Still another taught me how to dye paper with rust and ink. You have seen the stitching I did on these paper works in earlier blogs. And, I did classes to learn from other artists, like Sandra Meech and Sandra Pearce.
The result of all this encouragement was that I gained confidence to produce different types of art, and I gained more confidence when people admired them and asked for gifts of my work. Without coercion, my mother kept and used my cheeseboards, framed my cartoons and treasured my hand made dolls and teddybears, my father wore my embroidered fishing hats and hand-made bow ties, my son-in-law wears my hand-knitted beanies, my husband wears my hand knitted socks and my best friends frame my paintings, prints and embroidery pieces to display in their homes.
Some people have even paid money for them! In Brisbane, I sold my pieces at art exhibitions at the BIA and others have seen my work on line and bought them that way.
Back to slow stitching. Here are the three projects that I am currently working on. As you will see, they are very different from the work above, but they are still fun, still slow stitching, and still delight me.
The first is a very old piece that I started last year. First, I photocopied a photograph of a mushroom that I found in Bogong Village on to fabric. Then, I backed it with some batting. I very roughly machine embroidered over the picture using variegated threads and a very loose tension to give the loops and fluffiness. In the process, I broke the needle in my nail when I kept on working even though I was over-tired (Warning: slow stitching can be dangerous). Now, I am hand embroidering over the whole. I am not sure whether I will add beads to it later on. I am developing it as I go along.
My second piece is also on a photocopied picture of one of my photos of one of the streams at Bogong Village backed with batting. This one is just hand embroidered. As yet, the image shape is still very nebulous and this piece in particular is making me realise why they call it slow stitching. It feels like it is taking forever!
My third project is a quilt that is only very roughly pieced together - the squares don't quite match up. There is no apparent pattern to the quilt. The stitiches range from fly stitch to satin stitch, to French knots, to made up. The purists in the quilting and embroidery world would not approve. It is meant to a memory piece of my travels around the bush in Australia. As I explained before, the fabrics are sourced from fabrics that I have created from printing on, painting on, transferring photos on and dyeing cotton. Then, I am embroidering on the fabric to create, in the end, a united whole. Here are some new additions to the slowly developing work:
I think slow stitching is good for the soul. It slows me down but makes me feel like I am not wasting time, since, even when I am listening to a talking book or watching television, I am creating something beautiful. I slow stitch even while talking with friends and I feel it makes my homew feel like a home.
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