Here are some bits of the stream of thought bit....
A small crack might be the sign of a deeper rift.
A detective looks for small clues that will help complete the picture of the crime.
An artist or photographer will focus on a small part/area and transform that in to the whole of the work
A finishing detail on a couture garment may be an indication of the quality of the whole garment.
I didn't say they were earth shattering, it is just some of the things that came to mind!
My first reaction on seeing the colours was "camouflage" and this resulted in this train of thought, camouflage, leaves on hats, ferns, bracken, the young fronds of ferns (bracken) which contain the form of the whole plant be it a small fern or a huge tree fern. I couldn't find the photograph I took of ferns so I looked in flickr and there I found this perfect picture.
(which was much better than mine anyway)I asked for permission to use it as a base and Nancy generously said yes. She has some wonderful pictures in her album it is well worth a browse.
I ran the photograph with the painted wood script in PSP9 to give it a more stitchy look and then printed it onto cotton.
Next step was it pick out some details to embroider. I used variegated threads to echo the lights and shadows of the original. The stems are couched and then split stitched. The insides of the curle are french knots, bullion stitch and detached button hole band (I didn't do TAST for nothing!!!)
At first I was going to make it into a post card but because I was stuck indoors with today's awful weather I played a bit. I dug out my encaustic waxes, at first I tried making fern patterns but it all loooked to heavy so I ironed it off onto a piece of material but then decided I like the remaing wax better so this is now the background for the piece. I found the whispy yarn and added it to give that tangly feeling you get when walking through bracken.This is the scan
and this is the photograph, neither are quite "right". Neither of them show the texture.
For me, just the word "bracken" transports me the Lakeland hills. Memories again!!
22 comments:
Hi Pat thankyou for visiting me and your lovely comments, I had to come over and see you and so glad I did ~ your work is gorgeous I love this one with the baby ferns, off to explore the rest of your blog ~ Judy
This is a fascinating piece. I just love (and envy) the artistic quality.
It lovely Pat, I like the mucky colours of it all, and can guess about the texture which is almost visible. Interestingly you mention staying inside because of the awful weather - I did the same yesterday because it was so very hot and unpleasant. More than 31 degrees all day and half the night!
Well done Pat I like the process you went through to get a fantastic result.
this is wonderful. I love the spirals made by fern fronds...and have never taken a photo as great as this! (i'll have to check out flikr one day!) I love what you have done with the image. detached buutonhole bands are great for the inside of the fronds-inspired stitch choice! the scans/photos never do the work justice I think - I would love to see the centre of the frond up close!
hi!
I didn't click over to look at Nancy's other images, but I hope she clicked to your blog to see how wonderfully you used her fabulous photograph. The result is absolutely breath-taking. It captures the essence of the original but is simultaneously your unique work. The stitching is beautiful; and, although you aren't happy with the look of the texture, it is obviously brilliant. Lovely work...very, very nice!
beautiful thought process here, i like the transformation.
Pat I just LUV it! It's gorgeous
Britt :-D
A lovely piece Pat. I love bracken too and maybe because I played in the bracken too as a child.
I love this !
Wow!!!! I'm thoroughly impressed, and I really love it!!! and so quickly too!!!!
This piece is absolutely gorgeous - very inspiring - I took some photos of ferns at The Eden Project some years ago and this has made me want to get them out again and see what I can do. Your use of colour is marvellous.
Thank you for sharing the process with us, it is very inspiring! I like the result very much.
I love the way ferns look as they are uncoiling, I think they are the most beautiful then. Your March TIF is great.
Beautiful piece, Pat. Love the texture you created on this.
All your work is beautiful Pat, but I think this must be the best bit yet. Its a wonderful piece and its been good to see your progress from the source material to the finished piece.
All these gorgeous bits you have been doing lately - you will soon have enough to stage an exhibition of your own :)
As everyone else has said, this is really beautiful. I like the fact your weren't afraid to continue to experiment once the initial stitching was done. That guts and it worked out wonderfully.
Hi Pat
Great treatment of the ferns, it works really well with the embroidery stitches and the addition of the encaustic surface was inspired.
Thanks for dropping in on my blog and for your lovely comments.
I am very fond of ferns - the picture you chose is a wonderful starting point. It looks nicely textured, which makes me wonder what we are missing in the scan and photo... Very nice work!
It's absolutely beautiful. I love it.
I'm off to see the rest of your blog! Thanks for visiting mine.
Fabulous TIF Pat. It has so much beautiful texture and the colours you have used for the background really set it off. I bet it is amazing in real life!
What a wonderful piece! It is so rich.
Post a Comment