Your probably wondering what this has to do with embroidery – well this lovely, thought provoking movie (he’s rather nice too) got me thinking about my New Year’s resolution for 2011 – and my rendition of this would be Design Stitch Share.
Designing = ideas or food for thought
Stitching = meditation
Sharing = to love
This year I plan to explore ways to improve on the composition of my designs. Researching material for the Colour book last year made me realise how important it is to have a good composition and to pay as much attention to the negative spaces in our design (the blank white spaces) as to the positive (stitched spaces). So to help me achieve this I am going to learn how to paint with coloured pencils. This will be twofold as I hope to be able to create my own paintings for reproduction in embroidery instead of relying on the permission of artists.
I particularly admire the work of Ann Swan a botanical artist who explains this concept clearly in her book “Botanical Painting With Coloured Pencils”. Not only are her paintings inspiring for embroiderers of flowers but her work lends itself well to needle painting. You can find more information on her website: www.annswan.co.uk
I will also be looking into the possibility of online classes so that overseas members can join in on workshops and of course there are two books to be released this year, which is exciting.
If any of you have ideas for online classes I would love to hear from you.
I look forward to sharing ideas with your this year and a very Happy New Year to you all, may it bring you much joy peace and creativity.
Trish