Passion



Passion. The art of doing work that you love and what there is about it that makes you passionate about it. The piece above is called Heart in My Hand. It is hand embroidered using beautiful variations of green with a heart of beautiful variations of red. First let me say that as an artist I feel that love begins in our hands and our hearts. Yes some of it comes from our head but once you get going on a piece your head kind of disappears and your heart or your hands take over.

Heart in My Hand combines some elements of my work I am passionate about. I love to hand embroider hands. So many nooks and crannies to embroider into and putting a life to a simple hand is extraordinary. I guess my passion for hand embroidery and how my hands work to make each stitch different adds to my fascination of hands.

Another element of my work that I am passionate about is trees. Trees are a wonderful symbol of life. Each one significant and unique. I love the simplicity and great detail of a pine, the gnarly vacant tree or a beautiful tree all bedecked in leaves of green or many extraordinary colors. To this day my biggest joy in every day life is looking out my window and seeing a tree with news buds on it. A tree or a plant gives us so much nourishment too, whether it be fruit, or syrup, a delightful scent,shelter from the storm or paper.

The thread. A simple thread that can be twisted and turned and stitched into something new and wonderful. You can change the whole look of a piece by just adding one strand of thread in the right location. The idea that you have to look for that one special thread makes it all the more interesting. As I've mentioned before my favorite thing in the world is to take a jumbled up mess of embroidery thread (the kind you usually throw out because it is too hard to untangle) and find the perfect color for just the right spot. Kind of random and planned at the same time.

The needle. Whoever invented the needle was a genius. Such a tiny little implement or a couple of large pointy ones to knit on or the delicacy of a steel hook crochet hook made to embroider bedspreads and table clothes for our loved ones. Needlework is such a long process that every stitch is imbued with the love we have for our needles and our work and the people we do this for.

Finally color. What would our world be without color? Be it the hundreds of different greens and blues and reds and purples. It is a miracle of colors, shapes and hues which warm the soul. Be it a tree changing color or a beautiful blue ocean.

I am also working on a piece at the moment called passion. It is what inspired this love of hand embroidery that I am sharing. I'll share it as soon as I have finished it.

Thanks for reading about my passion see you soon. Keep on stitching.

Comments

Becky said…
I just have to say having seen your work at the Shaker Museum that the pictures on your blog while nice cannot convey the beautiful texture of your work. It needs to be seen in person.
Tangled Stitch said…
Thank you for the lovely compliment.
Mary-Frances said…
After reading that compliment I think I need to see your items in person! :)
I love your pieces though and especially the thoughts behind them! Wonderful stuff!
And thanks for the comment on my blog! :)

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