'this is my kite'
Ah, I can't tell you how much fun this was, well that was until I tried ironing the muslin while in the hoop which slightly burned/browned the fabric. I know that in itself could've been interesting effect, but not the one I was going for, so after I panicked I painted the finished embroidered piece with acrylic paints.
Here are some more details as to how this one evolved. As you know I've been experimenting with using my sewing machine to illustrate ~ so the polar bear came first. He hung around my studio for some time before I decided to put him in a hoop and added his little friend. Hand embroidered, the friend needed to hold a kite because for some reason I love stitching patches of fabric on to a piece. I've had this hand printed Rebecca Ringquist fabric since June that I actually bought from Rebecca at the Squam Art Fair. Oh and on a side note, if I wasn't teaching, I would've been in Rebecca's "Drawn to Embroider" class in a heartbeat. Her students worked with these GIANT hoops, and it looked like so much fun. I've been dying to use her fabric, but have also been saving it for 'something special' that is bigger. So as you can see I only cut little snippets to use.
I wasn't so sure I liked it painted as much as I liked it natural, but to be honest when it was resting against the wall in it's natural state, it was getting a little lost. Now the colors have really grown on me, looking very graphic from a distance and complimenting my yellow chest and another painting of mine that I have hanging on the wall behind it, really well.
Challenging, crazy fun, and pushing me to expand...everything experimenting with a new medium should do.
