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Friday 30 November 2012

Threads

I may have mentioned before :-) that I am a very literal person so when I read that the next challenge was 'Threads' that's all I wanted to do! Except that I couldn't think of a way of re-creating my photo in fabric - until I attended a workshop/retreat with Gillian Travis on how she creates many of her pieces using paint and stitch. I've written about the workshop Art to Stitch on my 'Occasional Jottings' and quickly realised that I needed to get better acquainted with my acrylic paints!! I'm reasonably happy with the outcome. There are definite glitches in the perspective and whilst I was pleased with the highlights I decided not to push my luck by trying to add the shadows too!!!


13 comments:

  1. Well, if this your first foray into painting then we'd better watch out. Love it. You have a very steady hand when it comes to stitching and I love the little touch of the spool that 'lost' its label.

    Hilary

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    1. I have used paint before but only to colour fabric - not in this figurative way.

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  2. This looks like my basket of silk threads. Yummy! Enough to inspire me to get to my machine and start stitching.

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  3. Too tidy to be my thread basket! Where are all those loose ends that are the bane of my life?! Hilary

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  4. If this is your first painting on fabric - well done! I love the texture of the basket edge, and the bright colours of the threads. Highlights work well, and I'm sure you could have managed the shadows beautifully. I too am very literal, so I love your interpretation of the theme.

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  5. I really like this oiece - it looks so real I want to lean forward and sort through which colour to use. The basket is so well done as well. Super!

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  6. I really like the way your stitching defines the painted shapes. Masterful!

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  7. Wow! I just love this piece! I especially love the highlights on the spools and the lovely neat stitching. It's definitely not too literal for me!

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  8. Such great colour and contrasting stitching. Could you describe the technique in sequence of application?

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    1. I enlarged and printed out (In two sections) an old photo of a basket of threads.
      I used a light box to trace the outline of the basket and spools in pencil on to a medium weight canvas.
      Then I used acrylic paint to 'colour in' the shapes - this took the greatest time by far, but it was also a steep learning curve for me.
      I put a layer of felt under the canvas and stitched the outlines. (All this was covered in my workshop with Gillian Travis.)
      Finally I added the backing,pillow case style, and outlined the basket once more to hold the three layers together.

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    2. Like someone else said, I love the highlight/shine you achieved on the threads. Hilary

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  9. a clean, neat look. a great technique and way of depicting this theme. beautifully executed

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  10. I love the jumble of thread spools and the colours. Your "drawing" with the stitching is perfect.

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