I embarked on a journey of embroidering on spheres with flowers. The process involved felting, stitching and sewing. The daisy is a universal symbol of happiness, as well as a symbol of life, and that has been my beginning. As a visual artist and florist I love the intricate beauty of flowers and the profound connection they offer to the cycle of life.
There is more to create, a sanctuary where happiness can bloom.
Me.
I took on the task of embroidering a “Puzzle."
The outline is done first with double cross stitch and then all the shapes filled in with whatever stitches and colours you choose. As I’m new to embroidery I chose the colours I had most of.
Cream, variegated cream and fawn, white and brown.
I darted all over the place filling in random shapes. It was fun to pick up and complete a small square.
At the end I added the lighter green as felt it needed that with some black and sparkly thread I bought.
This way it became more balanced with the colours spread out. I’m not one to plan a process. I make it up as I go.
The sparkly threads don’t show up well in the photo but in real life they dance across the canvas.
Sheaf stitch, Amadeus,sprats head, triangles, diamonds, Rhodes, Jessica’s, eyelets, smyrna’s, double cross stitch have now been handed to my vocabulary.
I used various thicknesses of thread from single DMC to Perle 8 and 5. Any thread works and can be layered for a special effect with texture.
The basic pattern can be found here but as I say I made up many other patterns.
https://www.stitchers-paradise.com/Canvas_Embroidery/JHI/JeanHiltonBooks.html
Bookmaking has its challenges. After spending time cutting pages, stitching a cover and binding that bundle, the first page often poses fear and anxiety.
What if I make a mistake?
I don’t really know what to write?
Shall I just leave the book blank?
This blank page is daunting.
Start at the second page. A quote is always a good way to start as someones else's words can give you inspiration.
Randomly paint a few pages.
Colour on a page can give you objects or patterns that you can make out. It's called pareidolia. Just like we see the ‘man in the moon.’ In some dyed paper I saw a blue splodge as an eye and so embroidered a few stitches.
Give things a go. There are no mistakes.
“My life is a dot lost among thousands of other dots.” Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama has a fascinating history. I admire her gumption in standing up and creating art, despite her mother destroying some of it. She is a Japanese contemporary artist and at 91 is still creating.
In 2009 I saw her “Mirrored Years” exhibition in Wellington. The outside of the City Gallery was a mass of dots. The mirrors inside reflecting light and colour in an amazing kaleidoscope. The dots have became her trademark and she began creating “Infinity Rooms.”
The mirrored fabric represents both her dots and mirrors. The media used is stitching, dyeing and collage.
Having only grey linen during lockdown, I used red and yellow dye to brighten things up.
Never too old, so the saying goes.
Recently I joined up to a Sue Stone online portrait stitch course. I’m not a great one for ‘process’ but the course is designed for practise on the basics. The next stage is for more individual detail. I’m really enjoying it.
When something wears out you either repair, replace or renew. I've played a lot of sport and my knee has suffered various injuries.
These injuries were something a plaster wouldn’t fix so in March I had a knee replacement.
My surgeon could well become the invisible stitcher. A running stitch with dissolving thread.
Recently my artwork has included many varieties of stitches as I learn to embroider.
4 months later and I’m still recovering.
Motivation is not high up on the list for finishing a project I started quite a few months ago.
Memories are part of my artwork. As a child my Nana let us make mud pies in her garden. We were allowed to pick flowers and decorate them. The best part was she came with handbag over her arm and bought our creations. We then set off to the corner dairy where I soon learnt that vanilla, a new flavour, was not a fruity ice-cream.
This book was made for the NZ Association of Book Crafts exhibition. Using muslin as a base, serviettes and photos of cupcakes were glued, collage style on to the muslin. These were photocopied and formed the pages.
The process in pictures.
When my sister visits she take great pride in rearranging the ‘Cushies.’ This physical presence of her contemplating her next move, appears like a draughts player with a new strategy.
The humble pin cushion is its own work of art, with a new artwork everyday. This re arranging is a bit like life. You need to make adjustments, change things up a little, make something appear new and different.
Maybe it’s become an interactive artwork.
Everyone sees colours differently. You know the old fashioned saying, ' blue and green should never be seen.’ That plays to the rebel in me and for years I have mixed all colours together.
I like the deconstructed look of making my own fabric where the fibre and threads are randomly placed and then stitched together.
When I did my Diploma of Visual Art and Design at the Eastern Institute of Technology, it was all about the process. Take one stage at a time and develop that with drawings and once you have achieved multiple drawings choose one to develop into an artwork.
My brain works in a different way. I’m more an intuitive maker and don’t like the idea of a ‘onesie.’
To make many, is to give strength in numbers. A large picture of many parts that the viewer needs to keep visiting to understand and see the progression of my work. If it’s cohesive it flows and therefore there is more understanding about it. Most of my ideas come as I'm making one. The next idea develops and this progressive approach gives the collection. There is no distraction and the high level of focus and engagement usually results in a successful body of work. That's my goal anyway. Maybe its called obsessive art but for me its enjoyable.
‘Cushy Numbers’ are a collection of pin cushions that make craft into art. I was aiming for 20 but have produced so many more.
This wee beachcomber has been in progress a long while. I started her in 2015. Then as my husband and father passed away that year, my creative nous disappeared. Over the last three years I have spent many times looking at her and feeling remorseful that she lay in pieces. This is her journey to completion.
Introducing Mary O’Reilly.
