Autumn leaves

It's not that I want to rush through Spring and then Summer, but I have just mounted this small piece on acrylique ready for a frame. I had hesitated in doing anything with this embroidery because the red dyes ran slightly during the cleaning process and I felt it was not worthy of any further investment of time and money. But as is often the case, when I leave a piece on my work table, it takes on another significance. I see it more objectively.

I remember when I finished it, a client had just arrived in the studio. She reacted spontaneously to the piece. When I pointed out the bleeding, she was adamant that if at any time I decided to not do anything with the work, she would like it. She is the daughter of a renowned Quebec artist and I trust her eye.

Maybe my objectivity and resulting pleasure today in looking at this piece is similar to that which C. exhibited that day so long ago. Somehow the very slight mark of bleeding around one or two of the leaves seemed less important. Time has worked its magic if only in my head.

The art of Zeke and Michelangelo

This morning I read an extract from a text by Alain, (French philosopher, 1868-1951) where he said that often it is during the execution of a project that the artist makes discoveries which serve her vision. The artist becomes a spectator to her own work in progress. She recognizes the challenges her vision presents and she adjusts accordingly. It is at this point the work takes on its originality and distinctive quality.

My eyes wandered over to a drawing by Zeke, my husband's grandson, which was pinned to my billboard. He was four at the time and was experimenting with the colours of a new box of crayons. Quite spontaneously he drew the shape of an ungainly, uncrested bird, stood back from it momentarily, and then added vertical lines to the body and filled in each band with a different colour. Look Kathy, he said, it's a rainbow. He signed his name to the drawing. We called it Zeke's Rainbow Bird.

A couple of weeks ago, Zeke and his family came on vacation with us. Each morning, I would embroider in the garden as the children played. Invariably Zeke would come and watch me work. I reminded him of his Rainbow Bird and told him that when he visited in May I could prepare a canvas for him so he could transcribe the drawing in thread. He was excited by the idea and as he ran off back to his toys, he shouted back at me that he would like me to add a crest.

So this week, I set about designing something for 6 year-old fingers; large holes, thick thread, bright colours, simple technique. As I worked the test piece, on a smaller canvas, I wanted to create the effect of feathers in the tail. My first idea was to make a chequerboard with two colours. I had finished the lighter colour and set the project aside with the idea that the next day I would fill in the spaces with a darker colour. But when I viewed the project with fresh eyes the following morning, I realized that the tail in its unfinished state had already the feathery effect that I was looking for.

I had an immediate albeit very elemental example of Alain's idea of discovery while working. I chuckled at the thought that even at this childlike level, some basic ideas are common to all creative works. In this small way, Zeke's drawing echoed the work of Michelangelo...

Colours of the Arizona desert

My walk with Zeke inspired me to find the colours in my vast array of cotton and silk threads at the studio those that remind me of the cactii we admired. I started with just the greens and green/blues, but then I was reminded that depending on location and sun exposure and type, the 'pancake' cactus could be a purpley red, so this morning I added the colours at the top of the picture.

A sandy coloured linen would provide a suitable backdrop to whatever I decide to draw and embroider. I'm not sure what form this will take, but since I always like to be conceptualizing a project while working on another, this arrangement of threads and fabric will sit visible to my eye on my work table for the next while and slowly something will emerge and be committed to paper.

Moving forward in a figurative sense is always a daily focus. Doing it with colour and textures makes for rich and satisfying days. Stay tuned for the progress on this idea.

Silk work - progress report

Here is the colour palette for the silk piece I am working on. I spent the morning on the patio, despite the wind, working. It is a welcome overcast day today, so it was easier to work without my hands becoming a little hot.

As you can see I made progress and finished the blue flower. Some of the petals are so small, it was hard to give a sense to each of the shapes. But I am happy with the overall effect. I had wanted to use a little more of the pale blue, and had tried a few petals using two or even three hues of the blues shown here. In the end, after several attempts, I simplified and used only two hues in the larger petals and one hue in the smaller ones.


I was reminded as I worked how surgical I have to be when placing each stitch. There is no room for error with the Pipers and I have to be very precise in the way I analyse both the start and finish of each stitch as well as the movement inside the form. A close up will show that each petal has a central vein and hopefully a slightly rounded movement upwards, downwards or sideways. I plan to use one thread of the darker brown thread to interpret the stems which will give a very delicate illusion to the whole. Once this corner motif is complete, I plan to work the central flower which will introduce the glorious pinks into the project as well as an increased degree of difficulty.
Wish me luck.