For the last LONG while I've been forgetting to check the Month of Softies theme, but I'm pretty glad I did for January. As soon as I read "Winged Things" I was in, especially since birds have quietly made their way into all of my work lately. I've been trying to figure out ways of capturing the silent words and messages of women - the ones kept hidden and unspoken as we face our daily struggle with multiple (and demanding) roles. The bird, graceful and delicate, just seems like a suitable choice to carry away these words of weight.
Which leaves me to explain this bird in particular; made of linen, he is based on a simple Swallow shape. He carries the message "Hear Me" in his belly, one word on either side, the embroidered line running over his beak connecting the two. And yes, sometimes I admit to being terribly obvious - I mean, I've got him swallowing words and he's a Swallow...but I'm okay with that for now. The words are stamped on pages from a book because I've also been using common stationary materials to work these ideas out with.
In the category of inspiring embroidery, check out this work. What a great idea, and I can't wait to see more. Plus, this may not be embroidery, and I'm not sure who the artist is, but I could look at this cut paper piece for hours.
Beautiful. You might also like this too: http://www.neatorama.com/2008/01/14/richard-sajas-embroidery-art/#comments
ReplyDeleteI'd like the idea of a woman doing some version of this. When I think of all the time I've spent on my couch not sitting or relaxing, but living: nursing Josie, taking care of her when she's sick, folding laundry, fighting insomnia, trying to make it presentable for guests - it's like the sofa we have has more of ourselves steeped into it than the bed even. I imagine outlining and labeling the wear and tear, rather than trying to remove it. To modify the toile, I'd have to have the people spilling yogurt and dropping cookie crumbs - or chasing the dog off the sofa - or I'd add TV's with ANTM to it...or I'd make a cloth bag embroidered with the Pirate Booty label and wad it up and hide it under there, just like in real life, but more profound...
i love your bird, the little flashes of red on it work so well
ReplyDeleteI think the eyes and the tail are particularly lovely.
ReplyDeleteOh this is just gorgeous.... I absolutely love it!
ReplyDeleteAlso wanted to let you know that you're on my "homey inspirations" list on my blog!!!
:)
Kristin
http://homegrownrose.typepad.com/reclaimingthehome/
your bird is adorable
ReplyDelete