Thursday, May 31, 2018

Shifting Tidepools


I legitimately dream of tide pools.  There is something about sea life that has always drawn me and inspired my work - the strange shapes, textures and mysteries the ocean holds.  I am not a beach lover unless its primarily beach combing and looking in tide pools for beautiful creatures.  This particular theme from Art Elements blog is right up my alley.

Honestly, at first I wanted to create my typical bead embroidery version of a tide pool and had some rather unique ideas for accomplishing this, however, I was not very fast on the uptake of ordering the supplies I would need for my initial idea so I decided to go another direction entirely.

I had recently been talking to other beaders who are a part of the Embroiderers Guild of America (EGA) in a nearby city.  There were a lot of interesting things going on in their chapter and I decided I was tired of not being a part of a LOCAL community of like-minded people.  After a little searching I came across a chapter in my tiny city and decided to give it a try.  I met with a number of ladies and while there were not other beaders attending, it was nice to find some people with interests that segwayed into my own.

And then I went down a long and VERY cool Pinterest black hole of embroidery...and it was FABULOUS!  Embroidery is no longer just your grandmother's hobby - it is being turned on it's head and modern embroiderers are doing things with needle and thread that are breaking barriers.  I decided I really wanted to explore this medium a bit and what better time than now?  So I snapped up some supplies and fiddled around with a few random flowers until I figured out what I wanted to do for this challenge.

Once I felt like understood some of the basic techniques I grabbed some colors to start on my tide pool piece.

 
I decided to do radiating long and short stitches to give a gradient look.  First, I chose a deep denimy blue.
Then I added a lighter color, making sure to "blend" by stitching in different lengths between the threads of denim blue.

I continued this process with sea greens until I reached close to the edge of the hoop and stopped...


I didn't really have a goal or end result in mind, which isn't my normal M.O...creating jewelry is nice in that I know the piece will ultimately become adornment.  This was more of an exploration into another medium and finding a way to incorporate it into my repertoire of skills.  I am finding that I like embroidery and want to learn more, especially considering some of the incredible artwork coming out of this arena:


Please join me in seeing all the cool artwork others made with this theme...


Guests:

19 comments:

  1. Well, I love how you just picked up that little talent so quickly! I do love how you blended those beautiful colors and am looking forward to seeing what you make! Please post again when you do!

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  2. You seem to have a knack for embroidery! I love the way you've worked with the colors so far, and it'd be wonderful to see how you finish it.

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  3. What a good idea to challenge yourself in a completely new direction. Well done indeed!

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  4. your embroidery looks great

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  5. That is so great!! I just recently stumbled across thread painting (that I didn't even know was a thing. You might enjoy checking it out as well given your lovely embroidery here!!!
    https://www.facebook.com/FourFootFashions/videos/1488342157871172/

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    1. Raven, wow! Based on the name I was thinking something a bit different...how on earth do they do such delicate "painting" with a MACHINE?! So wild and cool. Thank you so much for the info!

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  6. At least we can all meet in the black hole ;) There is something wonderful in playing and experimenting with a new technique and it looks really cool where you are going with your piece! I am really curious how you will go on!

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  7. I love your abstract embroidered take on the theme Kelly and so pleased it inspired you to try something new...I'm a big fan of embroidery too - very therapeutic! Thank you for joining us in this challenge.

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  8. Beautiful work, congrats on trying out something new and glad you joined this challenge!
    Alysen

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  9. I really like your piece the colours you chose are fab and I love how you blended the colours

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  10. Love your embroidery! EGA is a great place to learn all types of embroidery. They have a yearly seminal with instructors from all over the world!

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  11. Beautiful colors, and the radiating pattern is mesmerizing, like the reflection of water on a sunny day.

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  12. I am excited for you as you explore a new to you medium! My sister is a hip, non traditional embroidery artist. I always marvel at the time and precision - yet think bead embroidery is easy. Different strokes, huh? Keep playing! Your colors are spot on!

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  13. I use to embroider and you might just inspire me to return to it. I love your tide pool. The colors are just wonderful. Well done!

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  14. That's beautiful... makes me think of a sea urchin from above!

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  15. It's one of the purposes of a challenge - to use different media, isn't it? And when we do, we make wonderful discoveries about them :) Your ombre tide pool is wonderful!

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  16. I am catching up! I love your embroidery and I agree that it is no longer your Grandmothers hobby!

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  17. Love those colors! It looks a bit like a sea urchin to me which is perfect for the challenge. How fun to start exploring something new... and lucky to meet a local group to grow those skills and ideas!

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