Over the past month, I’ve been working on a variety of projects at once. I started off by stitching together the 9 pieces from Glitch Series 05 into a “quilt”. Overall, I’m very happy with how it turned out and was surprised that everything actually ended being pretty straight/even. The most satisfying thing about quilts is when you iron all the seams, they lay flat, and line up “seamlessly”, as though they were always meant to be stitched together.
(Back View) Glitch Series 05 - Crop_1-9.jpg
Next, I stitched more loose ends I had lying around and added them to my ongoing project “Stitching Loose Ends”.
Stitching Loose Ends (progress shot), 2018-2020, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 16 inches wide x 3 1/4 inches thick
Stitching Loose Ends (back view), 2018-2020, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 16 inches wide x 3 1/4 inches thick
I’ve also been saving smaller odds and ends that are little less useable (for cross-stitching). But I recently had an idea to try and stitch these ends into a recycled handmade paper. I made the paper a fews years ago, while I was still at U of M and almost finished with my MFA. I’ve been experimenting with some free form stitching through the paper and the hardest part for me is the lack of control. Honestly, this doesn’t surprise me though, since I’m slightly obsessed with structure and control. The only way I can find some comfort in the process is to come up with my own rules or goals along the way. For example, I might have a goal to stitch 5x5 squares with cross-stitches. Even though I know it won’t come out like the precise grid that I’m use to stitching on with my other projects, at least I have something to work towards.
After torturing myself with free-form stitching, I couldn’t help but retreat back to my comfort zone. I started Glitch Series 06, but with a slightly different approach than the previous Glitch Series 01-05. This time I’m cross-stitching the full glitch image as a whole piece, instead of segmenting it into 9 different crops, as I usually do. The size/square count is based on the pixel dimensions of a computer screen, which is 1280x800, therefore, Glitch Series 06 will be 128x80 squares.
Glitch Series 06
(Work in progress) Glitch Series 06
At the end of the month, I pulled out a few skeins of yarn and decided to knit and add onto The Machine: Knitting Ouroboros.
I also started and completed two more hand-stitched paintings for the Paint by Numbers Series, Pattern G and Pattern H.
Pattern G (front view), 2020, acrylic, canvas, embroidery floss, 9.5 x 9.5 inches
Pattern H (front view), 2020, acrylic, canvas, embroidery floss, 9.5 x 9.5 inches
Pattern G (back view), 2020, acrylic, canvas, embroidery floss, 9.5 x 9.5 inches
Pattern H (back view), 2020, acrylic, canvas, embroidery floss, 9.5 x 9.5 inches
Last but not least, I’m currently showing two works from Glitch Series 01 as part of an online exhibition, Threaded II, Envision Art Show, running from June 1-30th. I’m also excited to share that I received an Honorable Mention, which means I’m the fourth artist featured at the beginning of the virtual exhibition. It’s a very strange time for all of us and it’s changing the way we make and view art. I’m glad that something positive has come out of this and I’m so thankful to be a part of an exhibition that showcases fibre artists from all around the world. Please take time to view the work at the link above (title of the show), there is some really amazing work to see and you don’t even need to leave your bed see it!