Exciting News: I Got Published!!!

I'm beyond excited to share this!  Four of my pieces were chosen and published in the newly revised version of Pauline Brown's Encyclopedia of Embroidery Techniques!  I just received my copy today. 

You can find my work on:

Page 39:  Green Canvas Sampler

 Page 128:  All the Buzz: Goldwork Beehive Sampler

Page 148:  Hope: Jacobean Crewelwork

Page 150:  Lily of the Valley Goldwork

Click on the titles above to link to the blog posts I wrote for each piece.

Lighthouse Landscapes

Recently, I've been playing around with color mixing, contemporary goldwork and mixing it all on digitally printed fabric.  For this piece, I started looking at lighthouses in North Carolina and Prince Edward Island.  I have always loved lighthouses as I grew up going to the Outer Banks near Cape Hatteras all the time.  In my research of lighthouses on Prince Edward Island, Canada, I found the New London Lighthouse and loved the quaintness of the lighthouse and the drama of the beautiful coast in the background--seriously there are some amazing photos of this lighthouse!

I started by roughly watercoloring a piece of cold press paper with a "land" area and a "sky" area.  I wanted to keep the watercolor loose so that my stitching could add the detail.  I then scanned it in and had it digitally printed on a cotton/linen canvas fabric.

Once I had my canvas, I experimented with different fabric scraps and decided on this beautiful silk and metallic tweed/brocade I bought this summer at the Silk Society in London for the body of the lighthouse.  The roof is created with leather kid.  Pearl purl is used to define the details of the lighthouse and create the balcony and mica bits were used for the windows.  For the sky and the grass, I used long straight stitches and Valdani thread and mixed in some cutwork. 

Overall, I'm fairly happy with this piece. The only sad part about it for me is it photographs a lot heavier than in person.  The silver I used in the clouds shows as gray here but in person, it is just glimmers of silver and the grass is not as dark as it is showing. 

I really enjoyed working on this piece, and I think that this idea has a lot of potential going forward.  It was a great challenge to try and create a lighter feeling composition with goldwork materials and to mix the color mixing techniques with the gold materials.  Even more exciting are the ideas I have for future pieces!

New Color Sampler

For the course I taught at Penland, I had the students use basic stitches and focus on color mixing by using multiple threads in their needle at the same time.  I ended up stitching this inchy sampler while I was there while I demonstrated the basic stitches.  It ended up being very relaxing finishing it up in the evenings and it showed the effect of mixing complementary colors.  Overall, it was pretty fun to stitch this sampler and compare the different rows and stitches to each other.

I used Appletons wool on linen twill.  Bottom line is 1 strand of purple, next row up is 1 strand purple + 1 strand yellow, 3rd row up is 2 strands purple + 1 strand yellow and top row is 3 strands purple + 1 strand yellow.  The stitches are all basic:  bullion knots, straight stitch, running stitch and stem stitch, chain stitch, cross stitch and french knots.

Penland: Working in Lilly Loom Studio

Last week I had the unbelievably amazing experience of teaching at Penland. Penland is just magical.  Truly if you ever have the opportunity to go there- go!  I have never experienced such generosity in knowledge and encouraging spirit in my life.  It will certainly be a memory I will treasure!

Growing up just an hour from here, Penland was always on a pedestal.  Only true artists went there!  It has been a dream of mine to go so to be given the opportunity to teach there was truly unbelievable.  I also got to choose my studio assistant, so I brought my student from NC State, Sydney Jones.  She had been a stand out student of mine in my Color Theory in Embroidery course and I had asked her to come with me after that class.  I think both of us "came down the mountain a different person" as Carola (one of the students in the workshop) phrased it. 

 My workshop was on the top floor of the Lilly Loom building with massive windows overlooking the mountains.  It was incredible because you could work in studio without feeling like you were really "indoors"!   The group of students I had was very diverse.  Two of my students were mothers of two of the other instructors, both of them also artists in their own right as well.  One was a husband to one of the instructors.  A few students were trying out embroidery for the first time.  A few had a good bit of stitching experience.  A couple had never been to Penland before and we had Carola who had been to over 15 Penland summers!  She had also done the workshop with Luke Haynes earlier in the summer and stitched some on her smaller quilt she had done in his workshop.  She was filled with stories, both about Penland and life in general and it was so much fun listening to them all!  

 Michelle stitching away.  She was using french knots mixed with chain stitches in a beautiful way to render water.  It was lovely to see the subtle ripple the mix of stitches created.

 Sydney is one of my talented NC State College of Design students and was an excellent Studio Assistant for me!  I had taken my class over to the "Japanese Binding and Decorative Papers" workshop by Yukari Hayashida.  Seeing the beautiful marbling and papers that her class was making inspired some of my students to try some marbling and rust dyeing. It was really such an amazing experience to be able to go and visit other studios and see how it influenced the students in my workshop. 

 The view from my room window.

  Ann showing her progress during a group show and tell session.  Hillary Fayle was the Studio Assistant for Leigh Suggs' workshop and shared her work with my class.  It was amazing meeting her and hearing about her process of making her embroidered leaves and seeing her new work.  Lots of us are now excited to experiment stitching with leaves, etc.  See Ann's leaf that she embroidered below too!

 

Kit was working on interpreting the colors of the trees in the woods.  He is married to the incredibly talented Deborah Horrell who was teaching the "Small, Smaller" workshop with Tom Spelth. 

 Helen describing her piece to everyone during a group show and tell.  She had painted a beautifully delicate arrangement of flowers and focused on using 1 strand of floss to add subtle detailing.

 Sydney found an old rag in the dye lab that had some beautiful colors and stains on it so she decided to use it for the ground fabric.  She is using mixes of metal thread techniques and thread mixing to respond to the colors and shapes on the dish rag.  I keep telling her to turn the hoop over because it is hard to see how much she has stitched until you see the stitching on the back! 

 Becky hanging up her silk organza that she has painted on with some pigments.  She also completed a beautiful inchy sampler using colors extracted from a piece of kudzu that she brought in and experimenting with different numbers of strands and color mixing.

 

To say this has been an amazing experience is such an understatement.  The people I have taught and met at Penland are magical.  Thank you to everyone who has made this time so special. 

UK: Stitching a Cultural Identity- Week 2, Classes Started at the Royal School of Needlework, Guided Tour of Hampton Court Palace, Hangout with Mr. X Stitch, Oxford and St. Paul's Cathedral

Week 2 started off with a guided tour of Hampton Court Palace with historian Vanda Nadolny.  She showed us through the palace explaining the history of the palace and the people that have graced its halls throughout the centuries.  She focused especially on the tapestries, describing to us the stories and process behind the creation of the tapestries and how they are cared for today. 

I'll update this shortly with a link to Rachel's blog post about this tour. 

Monday evening, we enjoyed an exciting trip up to King's Cross to "Drink, Shop, Do" and cross stitching with Mr. X Stitch himself at his X Stitch Hangout.  If you are ever in London on the first Monday of the month, I highly recommend it!  The cakes and drinks are delicious and the cross stitching is so much fun!  Jamie, Mr. X Stitch, teaches you the basics of cross stitch and provides a great environment with other stitch enthusiasts and stitch curious people.  

Notice Jamie wore his NC State hoodie from when he visited NC State to present a lecture and cross stitch workshop to our students in Raleigh!

Check out Angela's video blog post about our evening with Mr. X Stitch here.

Tuesday was the students first official day at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN).  There was a lot of excitement as we met Natalie from the RSN and she walked us up to our classroom at Hampton Court Palace.  The RSN tutor for the students was Mandy Ewing.  Mandy was amazing and the students and I loved her.  She is so very, very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor!  She had just gotten back from teaching for the RSN in Williamsburg, VA, USA in May with Tracy Franklin and Jenny Adin-Christie. 

The students spent Tuesdays and Thursdays for 4 weeks stitching at the RSN.  Mandy taught them 2 weeks of crewelwork and 2 weeks of goldwork, focusing on lots of sampling and starting a final motif that combined the two techniques.  When I developed this program, I thought these two techniques would complement the appointments we were going to and also would give the students a range of new skills (also thinking that if they weren't a huge fan of one they would probably like the other).  

On Day 1 of the RSN, the students received their scroll frames and materials kits.  They spent the morning learning the proper way of framing up and then embarked on their crewel adventure!  It was really fun watching them all so excited about beginning to stitch.  I especially enjoyed seeing the colors they chose for their crewelwork as you could really see their personalities come out in their choices. 

 Angela and Gillian choosing colors.

 

Rachel framing up.

  

Everyone getting ready to start to stitch!

 The view from our classroom!  

You can read the student's blog posts at links below:

Ashley wrote about the Royal School of Needlework

Rachel wrote about the 1st week of classes at the RSN-- updating post will blog link shortly!

Wednesday we took the train to Oxford.  Excited about their projects they started at the Mr. X Stitch Hangout, Carly, Katelynn and Rachel all spent the time on the train cross stitching away!

We enjoyed a two hour walking tour of Oxford with our animated guide Tom, a local writer and Oxford graduate.  It was quite exciting to see all the different colleges and gardens.  Oxford is beautiful and filled with history and stories!  We then had an appointment in the Study Room at the Ashmolean Museum to see some amazing examples of 17th Century stumpwork.

 I'll update this shortly with a link to Rachel's blog post about this tour.

Our last stop during Week 2 was St. Paul's Cathedral.  We arrived right as they were opening so the students were able to tour the inside before the crowds got very crazy.  Then we went up to the Broiderers' studio to meet with Anita (head broiderer) and two of her volunteer broiderers.  They were so generous with the students and I with their knowledge and process.  We were able to see new projects they were working on, restoration projects they were doing and pieces from the collection at St. Paul's.  My all time favorite has to be the Hammersmith Cope with the Jubilee Cope not far behind on my list.

It was so amazing for the students to see such a wealth of different techniques and mixes of techniques.  Additionally, it was truly wonderful having the tour with the broiderers as they explained their whole process and different decisions with the students for both new and restoration projects.  All three embroiderers were trained at the RSN and also shared experiences of the different projects they had done during their training and as part of the RSN.

During our St. Paul's trip, we were also able to see the "miniature" model of St. Paul's (if you ever go you must see this!!!! It's part of the Triforium tour) and climbed the roughly 600 steps up to the top to see an amazing view of London.  It was actually sunny for us too so we could see for miles!

You can read more from Katelynn's blog post here. 

Week 3 and 4 coming shortly :)!

RSN Canvaswork: Drum roll, please!!!!!

Here it is, the very last thread tied back for my very last module of my RSN Certificate!  Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited about this!  Now just for awaiting the marks from assessment....

 Here is an image of my final piece.  It is from an illustration that was on the front of UK Vogue in May 1936 for Royal Ascot.  I have to admit I am really pleased with it.  It was a great challenge but I've really fallen in love with this technique.

For some technical information:

The threads are mainly DMC cotton stranded, however, I've mixed in Appleton wools for the greenery and silks and rayons for the butterfly, lips and flowers.  There is tent stitch and trammed tent in the flowers and lips.  Tied gobelin into some encroaching gobelin for the hat.  Parisian and diagonal parisian form the blouse.  All kinds of different cross stitches create the areas of greenery.  I constrained myself to just cross stitch patterns for the greenery as I thought it had a more "bushy" type appearance and I wanted to try lots of different stitch patterns.  The skin is in diagonal satin. The little blossoms are chain stitch within chain stitch.  Finally, the Lily-of-the-Valley are padded satin with a stem stitch stem.

 I had to sneak some Lily-of-the-Valley in somewhere!

Here's a detail of turning the corner of the blouse. 

 I have to admit, canvaswork was a module that I was not originally terribly excited about.  However, I have found that I absolutely LOVE it!  I love the color mixing aspect of it and the constraint of the counted stitch patterns.  I love the textures that the stitches create and the painterly quality of it.  I really cannot wait to start another piece of canvaswork and I already know what it's going to be :)! 

UK: Stitching a Cultural Identity- Week 1

As I write this I am still actually trying to pinch myself to make sure it's real.  Seven years ago when I started traveling to the UK to learn embroidery I never would have guessed that I would be bringing a group of enthusiastic students over to learn embroidery too!  I feel so honored to have developed this summer study abroad program with the Royal School of Needlework and a big thank you to the NC State Office of International Affairs for awarding me one of the Internationalization Seed Grants to help get this program off the ground.  With that said, if you or anyone you know would like to support this program going forward or help with student funding, please email me!  I would love for this program to become an every other summer opportunity for our students (it is open to ALL university students not just NC State students!).

First of all, I just need to say- what a time to be in the UK.  The past 3 weeks in the news has been incredibly interesting as an American in the UK.  I landed the day of the Brexit vote and stayed up way too late watching the returns.  UK politics have provided lots to talk about with the students this trip!

So highlights of the 1st week:
Week 1 saw the students staying in housing near Portobello Road in Notting Hill.  This allowed the students to experience living in the center of London and allowed us take advantage of a lot of the museums and exhibitions in London without the students having a long commute. 

Tuesday:  Tate Britain to introduce the students to art in the UK.  We started with The Growth of British Art Tour.  Then the students had the choice to visit one of the special exhibitions, either Painting with Light or Conceptual Art in Britain.
You can read Giovanna's review of Painting with Light here.

 
We then made our way to Victoria Coach Station to take a ride in the Afternoon Tea Tour Bus.  We enjoyed a yummy mix of savories and cakes as we saw sights including Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Harrods, the V&A, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Piccadilly Circus.
You can watch Angela's video blog post here.

Wednesday:  I introduced the students to the V&A!  I "lectured" on Opus Anglicanum to Stuart Stumpwork as the students viewed pieces in the Medieval Wing and the British Galleries, providing a brief history of the UK as we spoke about the development of the embroidery.  It was so awesome to have these pieces in person as I spoke about them as normally I am just teaching off slides and photos.  So, as much as it's an awesome opportunity for the students to see the pieces in person, it's also an amazing experience teaching beside them too!

After lunch at Whole Foods on Kensington High Street (I had hoped for a picnic but it was icky and raining), we made our way to Kensington Palace for the palace tour and the special exhibition Fashion Rules Restyled.  Here are a couple of my favorite pieces on display:


 
 
 
 
You can read more about the above Flowers of the Fields of France dress by Norman Hartnell here.  
Read Rachel's post about our visit to Kensington Palace here. 

Thursday:  We started the day with a visit to the V&A's Clothworkers' Centre where the students were allowed to see a selection of both historical and contemporary British embroidery.

 

Here are links to some of the pieces the students and I were able to view:

Two 17th Century Stumpwork Caskets

18th Century Court Jacket

Evening Gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II by Hardy Amies

Evening Gown worn by Princess Diana by Catherine Walker

Lot's Wife by Audrey Walker

Evening Gown by Erdem Moralioglu

Read Giovanna's post about our trip to the Clothworkers' Centre here. 

After a quick lunch, we were given a studio and workroom tour of Catherine Walker & Co.  I am still in awe of our tour here.  The owner and director presented such a wonderful tour of Catherine Walker the company and their design process.  He spoke a lot about design symbolism and the process of creating bespoke garments.  Growing up a huge fan of Catherine Walker's pieces for Princess Diana, this experience was truly special.  I remember reading about the process and thought behind Ms. Walker's pieces for Princess Diana's state gowns and it making me want to read more about both fashion design and cultural symbolism.  They were never pieces created void of concept or cultural awareness.  Their richness of concept was matched with the beauty of traditional craft utilized in their creation.  It was an amazing opportunity for the students to see each of the workrooms and to see traditional craft in action.

They had displayed presentations in each room with examples of each step of the process.  We were even able to see a couple gowns worn by Princess Diana to various events.  When we went to the showroom, we were able to see some of their pieces available for order.  It was so exciting to see such beautifully crafted pieces.  Look at the beauty of these sleeves and how beautifully they are set into the jacket.  Truly the handcrafted details make my heart happy!!!

Carly's post about our tour of Catherine Walker is here. 

 Friday:  We ventured over to the New Designers Showcase to see work from design students graduating in numerous universities across the UK.  It was a great opportunity for the students to see how other students and universities displayed their portfolios and final projects.  We also saw some really great embroidery and were able to speak with a couple very talented students about their work. 

Read Katelynn's review of the New Designers Showcase here.

Week 1 wrapped up with the students moving to their new accommodations near Kingston.  

Week 2:  post coming soon!  Students start classes at the Royal School of Needlework!