stitched up party invitation

probably the coolest technique i learned at anne brodersen's class was this one...a new way of stitching up photos. normally, my stitched up photos are done on the machine, but for this one, i made a couple of small embroideries - of a bottle and a glass of wine and i embedded them into a picnic photo that i took at the viking market in bork havn. i love the result. i'll be doing more of these. for sure. to start with, as invitations to a gathering we're going to have when my family is here next month.

this was my first attempt and i didn't do a great job of cutting off all my pen marks. but next time, i'll do better.

don't you think it would make the perfect party invitation? now if the weather just warms up for their visit!

combining stitching and objects

i haven't yet shared all of the techniques i learned at the course last weekend. this is the one i'll likely use on my torso - we stitched some fine little embroideries onto very thin (but surprisingly sturdy) rice paper with ordinary sewing thread. when they were finished, we carefully ripped the paper around them, leaving a border to work with.

then we stuck the little embroideries onto a printed photo with a glue stick.

i chose to paint the rice paper with watercolors to match the photo background behind, but you could paint it another color and make them stand out.

i was looking for some kind of allusion to how denmark's past is also here in the present.

another technique we learned was how to set embroideries onto a stone or piece of driftwood. i took a piece of embroidery from a second-hand shop to use for my attempt. you trace around it and then cut out the shape in a piece of fiberglass wallpaper. you then glue the embroidery onto the fiberglass wallpaper and press it in a book to dry.   after that, you take colored pencils and draw around the edge. you can either choose to match the piece of wood or stone you're setting it on, or use a contrasting color. i chose contrast.

then, you glue it well, press it onto the stone or driftwood and wrap it in plastic film and then paper towels and then put on a bunch of rubberbands to hold it in place. we let it dry overnight. my fellow students used driftwood and theirs were dry by the next day. mine, which was set on a stone, was still pretty wet, since the stone didn't help by absorbing any of the moisture.

once it's fully dry, you can use colored pencil to blend it into the background better - mine was too wet that day, so i haven't done that yet. this is a technique i definitely want to play with a bit more, using my own embroideries and all of those stones i've been gathering.

now i'm off to print some photos to play with. what are you creating this weekend?

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fascinating photo series of children around the world with their prized possessions. 

stitches and paper and paint, oh my!

another of the techniques we learned at anne brodersen's wonderful weekend course involved small embroideries and bits of torn handmade paper that we painted with watercolors. we tore up a 5x7 piece of rice paper and assembled the little bits on a sheet of scrap paper.

then we painted them with watercolors, in colors we thought either matched our small embroideries or (if you were me) colors we liked. i had no idea what my embroideries would look like, as i had to rush home and make some that evening while watching downton abbey (episode 2, season 3, so shh on what's going to happen).

yup, another shot of those fetching watercolors. what is it about them? they're so photogenic.

the next day, our little bits of tissue-like paper were dry and we could begin to assemble them into a collage. i stitched up some small fantasy animals based on helleristning (it was either that or feathers).

we laid out the little stitchings and our bits of paper into a pleasing pattern and then pinned them to the handmade paper base underneath. the next step was to stitch them all in place. it was a bit challenging not to get all tangled up and poked by pins at first, but it got easier as you could remove pins on the bits that were sewn down.

tho' anne recommended using a fine thread, i chose this variegated thread that was a bit thicker because the colors were perfect with the colors that i had painted on my bits of paper.

i like the confetti-like quality it gave in the end, tho' i'm not entirely convinced it matches my little paleoglyph animals. they are a bit frolicsome, so i'm choosing to view it as a good first attempt. everyone i show these to likes this one best (my own favorite is the one with husband). it has a very cheery, bright, happy quality that i think accurately reflected how i felt at the course.

this is what elizabeth made - you can see that her single-thread stitches (from a neat old spool of variegated blue thread that i picked up in an antique store in the states last summer and gave to her) have quite a different feel. her sweet little circle stitchings tell a story of the barriers we have around us as people and of a family. but i'll let her tell you that story herself (she hasn't told it yet, but do keep checking her blog, as i'm sure she will).

our other fellow-student created this bright, springy, eastery piece. it also has a bright, cheery quality that i think reflected how we all felt at the course - happy and open and bursting with color and creativity. it was such a wonderful environment, working with a patient and good teacher in her light, inviting, inspiring atelier.

and this last piece shows how anne herself has used the technique. she's more sparing with the stitches attaching the paper bits. and i am very inspired by her teeny tiny embroideries. i'll definitely be pursuing this technique as a way of incorporating some embroidery onto my torso.

it was such a wonderful, inspiring weekend and i'm not done telling you about it yet, so stay tuned for more. in fact, it made me so happy that the troglodyte's latest dictatorial outpourings just rolled right off me. proving that having good energy yourself can go a long way towards deflecting any bad energy you come across. it's just a matter of filling up the tank.

a new take on stitched-up photos

i took a weekend embroidery course with artist anne brodersen at her studio out in ringkøbing, near the west coast of denmark. it wasn't a typical embroidery course, where you learn stitches, but where we learned some unique new techniques for combining embroidery and photography and embroidery and other materials (like sticks and stones found on the beach). in addition to learning some really inspiring new techniques, my very soul feels renewed.

we took a photo with good lines to it and traced out the best of those lines with a pen. then, using a lightbox (must have husband build me one of those), we transferred those lines onto a sheet of handmade paper that could withstand stitching. then, with two black threads, we stitched those outlines. i chose this photo of husband looking down at something on the beach. the water, the horizon and husband's silhouette seemed like the perfect subject matter for my first attempt.

it took me awhile, but i stitched up all my lines and then it was time to add watercolors. me being a sucker for non-fiction, i didn't intend to stray too much from the colors of the water and the photo as it was. it did end up a bit bluer than my photo, but that had more to do with my color-mixing abilities than with what i actually wanted to do. i clearly need some practice to achieve the colors i want.

i love the notion of combining my many photographs with paint and stitches and i want to explore this technique further. i think it will push both my photography and my stitching, not to mention my painting skills. it feels like anne was able to open a door to a whole new world of possibility for me.

longtime readers of my blog or those of you who know me in real life, may have noticed that i'm not the most patient person in the world. both stitching and working with watercolors on handmade paper require patience. patience that is difficult for me. i was actually fine on the stitching part and even achieved that meditative state (when i wasn't philosophizing on the intersection between art and craft) that i can't seem to achieve in actual meditation. stitching the black lines helped me clear my mind of extraneous, racing thoughts and i was just there, in the moment, stitching. it was wonderful and relaxing.

in places, my watercolors were too wet and they bled through my stitched lines. unfortunately, right there where  it made it look a bit like husband had had a little accident. happily, on the second day, anne showed me how to fix that with some pastel pencils that i brought along, so it wasn't the tragedy it seemed at first.

i still haven't fully processed the experience - it was two days and they absolutely flew by. we drank tea and discussed art and artists. we talked about how giving and open anne was with her techniques and how even tho' they were unique and "secret," in passing them along to others, she didn't diminish what she herself was doing with them. the three of us who attended each achieved something very different with our individual applications of the techniques (i'll show photos of that in another post). for each of us, it was quite unlike what anne was doing and somehow reflected our own personalities and preoccupations. it made me think that there needs to be a whole lot less fear about sharing out there in the art world.

here's my finished product. we backed our delicate works with interfacing, to make them a bit more sturdy and i'm going to find a frame for it and hang it here near my desk, to remind me of husband when he's not around and of an inspirational weekend where i began the next chapter in my personal creativity.

i'm already started on the next one, using one of my many shots of the field across from our house. i can't wait to get stitching.

the second photo in this post is one of anne's works, where she used this technique on a photo of obelisks on a beach in bretagne. she takes to the level of art, don't you think?

more on the other techniques i learned and what my fellow students (including elizabeth) made in another post.

stitched up weekend

this is how i spent my weekend. it was wonderful. more soon. 

new stitched-up photos now available!

just listed in MPC - the shop - a batch of stitched-up photos - get them while they're hot!

and now you can even "like" MPC - the Shop on Facebook

(yes, i finally broke down and made a page.)

oh, and if you're looking to secure a christmas present, i just put my whirlygig snuggle quilt on sale.
just making room for more fun stuff in the near future.

make hay while the sun shines

those WIP stitched-up photos

autumnal solids

soft, supple leather

i confess that i have been led astray from my creative endeavors by glorious autumn weather. when the weather got good last wednesday, i abandoned my post at the sewing machine and went outside. i've only come back in to do things that were absolutely necessary (laundry, meals, making sure the child takes a shower), but otherwise, i've been out with the horse and the bunnies and the chickens and the child. puttering in the garden. helping husband clear an area to plant some grapes and some special cider apple trees that we ordered. ok, i didn't actually help that much, but i discussed where it should all go before i settled down in the hammock with a book.

however, i do have all of these lovely materials, waiting patiently for me on the table in my makeshift studio and they promise rain tomorrow...

now available (round 1)

new stitched-up photos - now available on big cartel

two new quilts - now available already sold on big cartel

old norse series: a new set of feather touchstones with the names of nordic mythological goddesses
for the goddess in you.  on etsy.

i took photos for over an hour yesterday and i'm still nowhere near finished with editing, resizing and writing listings! it's a process that takes a long time! but i will be adding items to the shops all week.  still to come...fish, clarity birds and feather scarves (as soon as i figure out how to best photograph those) and a few other surprises.  i'd better go get some more photos while the light is good!

stitched up photos

a limited selection of stitched up photos are now available in my big cartel shop! they are one-of-a-kind, totally unique and there will never be another one like them (can i say it any other way?). they're a professional photo, not just one i printed myself and feature fun stitching and fabrics. the titles are done on cute woodgrain on my dymo junior, which adds a very whimsical touch (as if aliens weren't whimsical enough).  they're signed and dated and mounted with archival tape on high quality passepartout - ready for you to frame (size 5x7"/13cm x18cm)! so get them while they last!

i will be doing more batches of these as well as cards in the very near future.

sorry for all the exclamation points, but i'm rather excited about these. they're just so much fun!