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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Step Back, Part Three.

Flowers, all the way...

I became interested in macro photography.  I'm fortunate enough to own Big Bertha, a large scale Epson printer, which allows me to print things out, either small, in duplicate or large scale. This lets me focus on abstract work, rather than flowers themselves.  It's not a new idea...Georgia O'Keefe made wonderful flower images (click here for her museum).  I wanted to explore these things in textile, with stitch...and can often be seen crawling around other peoples' gardens, taking photographs of their flowers.  I have even gone as far as tidying up my own garden, and growing my own.

Most of the images are manipulated in PSP, printed out and stitched, like this one.




A tulip, it was printed out more than once; since I don't like to do the same thing twice, the stitching is different between the two.

More complex images followed ;
I like the idea of being able to repeat a print, but differentiating each one by the amount and design of the stitch.

Mark making, of course, had to get in there somewhere, rather than just as stitch.  I have large numbers of photographs of walls, wooden beams, pavements, all waiting to be worked on.  This one I think is one of the best things I've made.  It is an image of a wall in Norwich, and I have made it several times.  This one has intensive stitching in the dark areas.

Here is a detail shot;
Click on the image for a closer look.  This one is in Evolon, and so is hugely tactile.  My favourite version, however, doesn't have a stitch in it.  It was made from Lutradur XL, and has the darker areas carved out, and is framed with a light behind it.  That is spectacular, but I'm yet to get a decent photograph.

And that about covers it.  What have I learned?  Firstly, that it all holds together.  I've felt overwhelmed, recently, by all the things I do, but in fact, they all have similarities.  My passion for mark making and texture run through the work, and a passion for landscapes, both observed and internal, as well as the natural world.  

I can also see how the work has changed.  I worry less about what people might think about me and the work, and make what I need to make, without hiding anything.  I can also see that the colours I use are changing, from intense darkness early on, to increasingly bright palettes more recently.  

Now that it's coherent, clear in my mind, I feel I can move forward.  That, I think, will involve lots more mark making, lots more exploration and lots more hand stitch.  That feels right.  I'm glad I paused, and took stock.    If you have read all three posts...thank you for keeping me company!  If you have any comments, I'd be glad to hear them.  Perhaps you, too, might benefit from looking at what you have achieved in your work so far.

1 comment:

Bossymamma said...

I've just reread the three posts and it was fascinating but also, in some way, a little unsettling.