Monday, March 5, 2012

Seasonal Palette Embroidery

Have begun the embroidery work on my piece for the Seasonal Palette exhibition. Photos of completed work are due by the end of March, so I am working diligently to complete in time to ship it off for photography.

Here are the threads I selected. The lighter ones are for French knots at the base of berry stems. There are little nubs of scarring at the base of the stems from where berries from earlier years have been.
I put a small group of French knots made with 3-6 strands of cotton embroidery floss. Most of the floss I use is hand-dyed and add another dimension of complexity to reward the close up viewer.

Embroidering the berries

       

While the little dark spot on the berries is really more like black, I used a hand-dyed cotton thread that varies from dark green to brown to be more interesting and less harsh. 


 Adding the small end to the berries is like putting the highlight on a portrait. It brings it alive.


I love the little details that trees, branches, stems and berries have. The more I work with them, the more intriguing they are to me. Embroidery allows me to call attention to these details so others can enjoy them as well.

Please let me know what you think.

Nancy