"The quirky and speedy nature of the machine needle enables me to draw as if with a fixed pen. By slowing down the speed of the needle, I can create thick nobbly lines or, alternatively by speeding up and moving the canvas, I can create wilder thinner lines, hence giving the sense of movement.
Having worked for many years on a sewing machine I have learnt to master this motorised pen. I seem to have an affinity for the fiddly nature of thread and tend to draw directly onto the canvas, creating figures I then paint or appliqué, creating flat areas of colour. Then I embroider the shapes within the drawings using tiny freestyle patterns, moving the machine in an almost rhythmic repetitive motion, so forming blocks of texture, colourful mixes of thread and intricate patterns. The spontaneity and simplicity of the stitched black outline compliments the repetitive, more controlled and colourful stitches that decorate the figures’ clothes, shoes, bags etc. The ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary.
The tactile and double-sided nature of free machine embroidery, the meditative repetitiveness of the punching needle through cloth and the control required on an intricate scale is strangely addictive.
Embroidery beautifully illustrates the absolute individuality of people and I hope to encourage a positive yet sensitive outlook on life through my work. And most of all make people happy."
No comments:
Post a Comment