...and now it has it. Much less of it than I'd thought. I originally set out to stitch all the way round the piece. I found a variegated hand dyed perle which had all the colours in the piece in it, including the tannin stains in the background. The lovely curving line was complete chance, but when I looked at it, I decided there really wasn't any need for any more. I did contemplate adding three more at the bottom, but thought it would be gilding the lily.
Knowing when to stop is essential, and often very difficult, particularly when you have more ideas. That usually means that there's a need to explore more within a series format, rather than that you need to add more to the particular piece you're working on. Ultimately, it's all about intention, as I've already said elsewhere, in a conversation about a piece of work made by someone else. Part of my intention when I work is to keep things as simple as possible, while expressing whatever it is that I'm trying to say.
I'm happy with this, now. Yes, I could melt the lutradur a bit more, but it's a risk: if I melt too much, it'll just look silly, and as it's not distracting from anything, it's a risk I'm not prepared to take. Perfection, as I've said before, is the best you can do on the day, and that is constantly changing as you learn more, and become more confident. Sometimes discretion truly is the better part of valour.
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