my work - exterior view

This is an exterior shot of a house I worked on and haven't had a chance to show yet. 

The pieces are subtly colourful on the inside, littered with crystals, sequins and so on.

From the outside, during the daytime they are barely noticeable and opaque.

At night, when lit, they have a more graphic effect from outside.

The 9 windows portray the trees from the street, sprawling across the house.

I will upload some more detailed images soon.

 in the meantime, more are on my website
photos courtesy of the rather fabulous gary wallis
my stitching assistant was mirek lucan

oh mister finch!

 

Ah.. I think we all know Mr Finch by now. So I'm not going to show you anything new here today, but I just fancied putting a few of his pics here in one place so I can look at them whenever I fancy.

Several years ago I got in touch with him about doing a lengthy interview. Then life took over and I didn't get around to it. Serves me right.

Since then.. well he's turned into the craft world's very own Mr Darcy.. instead of walking out of a lake with a dripping wet shirt clinging to his torso.. he has risen up the ranks to show us more and more of his mastery of needle and imagination. His work at times romantic, dark and brooding or playful and always technically sound and solid. Yes ladies, he knows what he's doing.. he has magic hands and he really understands how to handle a piece of fabric.

Whenever he adds a new image or passing fancy.. I see everyone's comments on facebook - an audible mexican wave - a giant collective gush (what would that be called, I wonder..) He is so loved.

So I won't waffle on about him.. I'll just put some pictures here, over which you may join me in a swoon if you so wish.

I took these images from his flickr account - 'ohmisterfinch' and from his website

'oh mister finch' indeed..

so much

So much work has been going on that my head spins. I hope to show images of houses I've worked on with windows lit up like chinese lanterns soon. That's a lot of hand stitching and there's a lot more to do. It's all really exciting stuff. Meanwhile the stained cloths and scarves also continue to go and go. Happy days. I will blog about other people's work again as soon as I get time, it's always more exciting than one's own, but time is just too fleeting.

cayce zavaglia

I've known of Cayce Zavaglia's stitched portraits for a long time. I always thought of them as beautiful.. but then I saw these images of the back of them. for some reason, that heightened my affection for them. I was so moved by the honesty of the craftsmanship and the painterly effect it gives.

I like to see workmanship in pieces. In my own practice I always agree with clients - what will be a comfortable length for them, for the ends of threads on the back of the work. Some clients may be happy with an inch or others with at least two inches.. the pieces can be dense and almost hairy at times. For me it is a more intimate connection with the maker. Some people want to be reminded of that, others not.

But for some reason, when I see pieces left with the ends hanging down the front it doesn't necessarily have the same effect on me. Not always, just sometimes. Because it is part of a self-conscious, visual 'technique' it can change my feelings towards it. It's a very personal opinion and I haven't fully formed it yet.. but I thought I'd just share some amazing images with a badly formed thought.

For Cayce Zavaglia's website and incredible work please click here

- these pieces are in the 'editions' section