*Free Form (1/3) – Blue & Yellow*, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2021

November 2021 - Update

November 02, 2021

The last few months I’ve been taking it easy and slowly getting back into the flow of working on my art practice. In October, I finished three new cross-stitch works titled Free Form Series 01, which I’ve submitted for consideration in a textiles exhibition early next year.

*Free Form (2/3) – Orange & Purple*, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2021

Free Form Series 01 was created with the intent to play and explore the techniques of cross-stitch in a similar way to abstract drawing or painting. Normally cross-stitch follows a specific pattern which is determined prior to starting a project. The only pre-planned factors in this series were the two complimentary colours that were selected for each piece. By utilizing various stitches and colour combinations the possibilities and potential outcomes become infinite.

*Free Form (3/3) – Red & Green*, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2021

January 2021 - Update

December 28, 2020

Well it’s been one hell of a year and I’m happy to finally say goodbye to 2020. COVID aside, this past year actually allowed me more time in the studio and there are things that I’m happy to say I’m proud of. This year I submitted my first Canada Council for the Arts grant application (pending results by end of February), I participated in my first virtual exhibition, and I read several books, not only for research, but also for my own personal enjoyment.

I took a much needed hiatus from September - December 2020, since it’s always busiest time of year for my job. I now feel rejuvenated and ready to get back into the studio. I spent my most of my holidays cross-stitching, painting, and jotting down ideas in my sketchbook. Sometimes the hardest thing for me to do is to settle on the idea(s) I should execute and which ones I should leave behind.

I finished the third and final piece from the System Failure series. Overall I’m really happy with how the series came together. All three pieces may stand alone, each with a unique colour palette and various levels of “completion”. The cross-stitch patterns are based off of digital glitch images that have been disrupted or “glitched”. The series is a representation of a “glitch within a glitch”. However, the glitched or unfinished cross-stitch is a forced visual that alludes to a machine error or malfunction.

System Failure 03, 8x10 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2020 — *System Failure 03*, 8x10 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2020

I finally finished a series of paintings (currently untitled), that I originally started while I was an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center (in September 2019). They were only meant to be tests while I was trying out the painting technique I ended up using for the Translation Series that I also began in Vermont. The paintings were painted square by square, section by section, using tape to mask out various areas at a time.