The current issue (January) of Southwest Art has an article about Carol Shinn, who does thread painting on fabric printed photos – they are photo-realistic. Google her & see her work. She has items in Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe (www.jsauergallery.com) & Hibbard McGrath Gallery in Colorado, that sell for $2,500-4,500. Very interesting stuff!
She alters & collages her photos on her computer, then prints the images on heat-transfer paper, which she then irons onto broadcloth & bonds to a painter’s canvas, so she isn’t limited to the 8-1;2″ X 11″ fabric printer sheets. She completely covers the canvas with stitching, using a 30-year old sewing machine. It’s a technique she developed in the ’80s – she moves the fabric to control the direction & size of the stitches. It takes her 2-3 weeks to do a picture. She mounts them on archival foam core, and then on fabric-covered foam core, then she frames them.
Gloria
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Beautiful, thanks for sharing. Labor intensive isn't it? wow!
Yah, very labour intensive! It surprises me how much like photos they still look like when they are finished.
Gloria
Carol Shinn's work--another example of free-motion work, this time embroidery on canvas as opposed to quilting (three layers). Amazing what can be accomplished with a simple darning foot, thread and lots of patience!
Annie
Lots & lots of thread, eh? & patience - & a very careful match of colours - especially where there are reflections of light. It's a different way of doing thread painting - I hadn't thought of doing it over photo transfers, but it's very effective, as it still looks so very realistic. A new creative idea to try!
Gloria
I've always been intrigued by thread painting but have never tried it. I did see an interesting approach in an art gallery. The artist painted landscapes with an acrylic wash that looked like watercolor on watercolor paper, then she created the details with freemotion embroidery. It was a very effective way to highlight a part of the painting. The one that stays in my memory was a bare-limbed tree against the sky. It was beautiful.annie
Check out your local library - there are several thread painting books out now, with good directions. There have been threads with lots of information on it in the past 6 months that you might be interested in, too - with websites to check out. Look in "Past Messages".
Gloria
Oh, I know how to do it! I just don't have time. My thing right now is to finish the last half dozen custom quilting jobs out of here so I can start to work on my big pile of UFOs. I've got a queen-plus quilt that needs its last little bit of applique done so that I can finally add the borders and then begin quilting it. It's my daughter's wedding quilt and she's been married almost four years now. Then quilts to start for the two daughters who've gotten married since then, and a quilt for my in-law's 50th anniversary, and two raffle quilts and...and...you get the picture!Annie
I DO get the picture! I feel so much better now about my UFOs! :)
Gloria
I prefer to call my UFOs, WIPs (Works in Progress.) It's just that on some of them the progress is equivalent to the progress made by your average glacier. I could use some global warming in my studio!Annie
OK, the WIP does sound better than the UFO. I have the same problem with the glacier effect! :) We'll get those done eventually, eh?
Gloria
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