In search of new ideas.

Lately I’ve been in search of new ideas, new horizons and places to expand by artistic self, and in the process I’ve been experimenting a lot.

But also on that exploration, I’m going back to my early roots. It’s always a source of comfort to be back where one started.

Remembering my skills.

So… My sewing machine was busy doing lots of things for a project I’m working on (I’ll tell you very soon about it) when I decided to give free motion stitching embroidery a go after a looooong time without doing it.

I took some of my Japanese handmade paper that one of my beloved friends and fans sent me as a gift and I set out make art. Starting with a sketch, I trace the outlines on vintage papers, and I use my sewing machine to sew layers of paper to create a beautiful image.

Once the sewing is done… it’s time to paint! Adding watercolor details to these vintage looking images is super fun, and I sure enjoyed bringing the initial free motion stitching sketch into full life with colors.

Done!

And I loved the results! It’s always so satisfying to see my ideas come to fruition just as they were in my mind. I love the texture of watercolor over the paper, and how leaving loose strands on the illustration make theme live and dynamic.

I am getting A LOT of positive feedback on these new works! I love working with this technique, you can create a lot of different effects with it and it’s easy to learn. It has a very special place in my heart, because it was one of the first classes that I taught.

That made me wonder if you would be interested in a class to teach you how to make them?