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Friday 1 November 2013

It's Friday. (I finished it!)

It started with a sketch.


The sketch was from a photo I took of a field full of new spring growth coming up in last year's dry, yellow stubble & seed.  I have to find a good name for this.  (Hint, hint!  Your suggestions appreciated.)   It's old & new, spring and fall, future and past - all together in one spot.  As I stitched, I felt focused on the yellow grasses, which really isn't what the photo should have been about if you think about it.  It was spring.  Green was coming forth.  hmmmm.

Here is what I had done as of the last post (three days of stitching):

day three


Some of you asked why I used the grey background.  Hmmm.  I don't really have an answer.  It's a good piece of wool to do a bit of needle felting into.  I've used dark grey before and it seemed to give some depth to the piece.

...three more days of stitch, stitch, stitch....

day six

I love the blending.  This was very interesting to do.  I have to find it interesting right?  How else could I stitch for fifty hours?  I stitched green, then yellow, then green, then yellow, and again once more.  I didn't want to add French Knots for the little spots of brown from the year before.  I decided to add some beautiful wooden beads that Margot had given me.  I laid them out on the piece until I was happy with the placement and snapped a photo so I would remember.  One bounce of the taught fabric and the beads would be sent flying.  (haha - I speak from experience!)

auditioning beads

The whole piece is a blend of wool, cotton, and silk.  I thought the wood beads were perfect!  They are all the right colors in shades of brown and rust.  I spent this afternoon stitching them down one by one.  I stitched them so they would show face out, with a several stitches through each bead.  This will framed quite differently and I want them on there securely.  I think they look better this way too!

done!  (click to view larger)

There you go!  WHEW!  What a marathon.  I can't wait to take it to get it framed.  I like it.  It's kind of impressionistic.  That's challenging for me.

I am glad I challenged myself.

Well.  I should have new work (my usual threadpaintings) to show you next week.  I did have enough art for my upcoming solo show at The Centre Galleries but then sold some in the last few days.  That was so unexpected!  Thank you so very much to those of you who contacted me for art.  : )  After all this I'll be able to start up 2 new & totally fantastic commissions.  Thank you also for that!  One is from the USA, and one is from Australia again.  That will make four pieces of mine over on the other side of the planet.  That's so exciting for me!  Every once in a while I stop and pop my head up out of my sewing room to take a look at how far I've come and it always blows me away.  I pop my head back down and just keep stitching.  : )  Too much excitement makes me nervous.  lol

Have a great November and thank you so much for following my blog.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

absolutely beautiful! and the beads added such a fresh look! who would have thought! lol....well, you did! Congratulations on a wonderful piece!
Debra

Anonymous said...

I love your work.

HollyM said...

It's beautiful, Monika and the beads are perfect! The time you put in in the span of a week quite amazes me.

Sheila said...

Just beautiful Monika , that is a lot of stitching but the results are stunning .

Kate said...

You are truly amazing, Monika. This is awesome.

Unknown said...

I continue to me amazed by your creations. Then I realize they are typical of your high standards. You sew so well!

Jeito Mineiro de Ser said...

O resultado final ficou ótimo! A mistura de materiais deu uma textura diferente! Surpreendente! Parabéns!
Novamente repito que sou sua fã!
Um abraço!
Egléa

The end result was great! The mixture of materials has a different texture! Amazing! Congratulations!
Again I repeat that I'm your fan!
Hugs!
Egléa

josette.272@gmail.com said...

c est génial monika bravo

Bev said...

Monika,
A title for the spring grasses coming thru last years old growth? What about 'emergence' or 'spring emergence'. Just a thought.
Bev L, Alberta

Monika Kinner-Whalen said...

Emergence! oooh I love it : )

monika@mysweetprairie.ca said...

Love that Bev! :)

TheYvetteRene said...

I was going to submit a suggestion for the title, but then I saw someone say Emergence or Spring Emergence and I really liked that!

Thank you for taking my commission. I can't wait to see the finished product, but will love everything you do in between. It's always so exciting when we get to see something you've finished. Not only because the finished product is always so amazing, but also because we get to wonder what's next!

xoxoxo

PrairiePeasant said...

Love the beads! They are perfect for the piece!

monika@mysweetprairie.ca said...

Awe thank you Yvette. :) I can't wait to work on your piece, especially since we are opposite seasons right now. Your spring will be so refreshing as we head into winter. :)
Curious... what was your title suggestion?
Monika K.

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