Embroidered Collage

Before I could start the stitching I needed to alter the coloring on the background from the simple paint and collage version in my last post.

I used ink pads, just stamping the full squares into the canvas with an uneven pressure so the whole rectangle was not printed.  I also used a few bits of print blocks I'd carved for other projects.  I thought it looked great.  A few days later I tried to use matte varnish to seal everything in and the pigment ink started running!  Aaargh.  So all the colors ended up blended a bit more than I intended.  Next time I need to either wait longer, use a spray fixative, or find a spray acrylic.  I was still pleased with result, but I liked it better the other way.

I started the stitching by outlining the tree shape, because that was the part I was most certain I wanted in the piece.  I had originally been thinking of a pale beige, but with the reduction in value contrasts caused by putting on the varnish I went even lighter, to an off-white.  I had also been thinking of whipping the back-stitch, but decided I liked it the way it was.

For the leafy bits I wanted to pull out some of the bright green that I started with.  I picked feather stitch for its organic look and the ability to twist and turn a bit, similar to the tendrils in Marissa's printed papers.  At first I only did the lengths on the left and the one on the bottom right - and then my mind blanked, even though I still had time to stitch that evening.  I thought that might be all I needed, but it bothered me that there was no greenery in the upper right.

A couple nights later, when I had time to stitch again, I knew where I wanted to put the stitching.  Instead of one long strand I'd do two shorter ones.  The grassy bits at the bottom were a last minute addition.  I'm not sure they'll show up much when I actually wrap the canvas.  We'll see.

I had considered stitching additional squares of windows in a dark outline, but decided that I wanted to emphasize the greenery portion and have the city effect be in the background.  I also considered adding some great flat beads I had in similar colors to the background, but decided that only having beads on the bird would be more effective in drawing attention to it as the focal point.

See the previous post on this work in progress.