materialised » embroidery

Wordless Wednesday

Julia — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:35:57 +0000

2011 – Word of the year – Nourishment

Julia — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:09:15 +0000

It’s a new year… a fresh start, and I’ve been taking some time to think about what I’d like to achieve this year. Most of all I want to keep on doing what I have been doing – making a variety of things, sewing, drawing, painting, glueing etc. But I want to combine this with being happy which means

working at my own pace
doing work I feel comfortable with
working in ways most natural to me
admitting how important my work is to me, how long I spend on it, and what processes are involved
not underselling myself
treating my work like any other job - sticking to regular hours, taking proper breaks and holidays
taking plenty of nourishment

Nourishment – a definition

The substances necessary for growth, health and good condition
Food

Probably one of the things I’m most grateful for from last year was to regain some lost concentration. I had become progressively more anxious / depressed which had a huge impact on my concentration levels – reading fiction had become out of the question. With some good treatment I’m feeling 100% better, happy with my lot, and ready to have my mind expanded by the magic power of other peoples thoughts and ideas in the form of words and pictures ! Words are definitely the nourishment I’ve been craving and it’s the word which sums up what I’d most like for myself this year.

This brings me to my 1st project of the year. I recovered a notebook, which I’m going to use to make a note of all the books I read, films I watch and the exhibitions I visit… might even add a cake recipe or two. (well my memory still isn’t that great) I’m planning on bringing more words into my sewing over the next year. I’d call it a project but I’m not very good at sticking with those, so we’ll just see how it goes…

Do you have a word that sums up your hopes for this year?

Mail Art Embroidery – Handle with Care

Julia — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 11:57:50 +0000

This is something I’ve been working on recently- a hand embroidered envelope I’ve submitted to the Cut-Click travelling mail art exhibition, which will be hosted this Summer by the Spider and the Fly pop-up shop in Edinburgh.

I have a small stash of padded envelopes, from etsy purchases. I keep them in the hope that they’ll get recycled. This one came from Finland, and I liked the stamps which were on it – red roses…and took my inspiration from them. I thought they fitted well with handle with care , which ties into the ‘mail’ theme.

I began by covering the surface with many little straight stitches to make it feel more interesting . The envelope was quite hard to stitch through at times, especially on double thicknesses, and occasionally little bits of the plastic bubble wrap interior poked through.

I was happy to let the design grow as I sewed.

As soon as I hear about all the details of the exhibition, like where and when, I’ll be sure to let you know!

Passionate

Julia — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:46:02 +0000

This is a small expression of how I’m beginning to feel again, about fabric, thread, paint and paper.

I’ll be adding it to my shop on Saturday, along with a few more one of a kind embroidered brooches and purses.

Etsy shop update – embroidered silk heart brooches

Julia — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:27:24 +0000

This week I’ve been having a mini love affair with silk and embroidery thread – working with them to create a series of brooches. Each one is heart shaped and expresses a different mood. Some joyful…

And others less so ;-)

Available in my etsy shop now.