"Creating hair . . . the faces come alive . . ."

		This article is my journal entry as I continue to work on my piece "The Tribe". You can see how it is evolving in the updated section of my 'pieces in work'. Before beginning to stitch the hair, I completely stitch the face and eyes to bring life to the canvas.

There are many challenges to stitching the hair so it won't appear wig-like.

I want each head of hair to appear unique from the others, as our own hair differs from another person's. Emphasis is placed on the multi shades or tones that comprise one's hair. The play of light, contrast of shine and shadow create reality.

I ask myself "Where does the hair part?" and then decide direction of stitches.

The first step is to outline a large portion of the hair to remind myself of the shapes within the total head. I fill in the designated shape and the outlines with a blend of split gobelin long stitches and/or running stitches. Mostly, I work in long vertical rows to imitate long strands of hair. I say 'mostly' since I will stitch horizontally as well if it 'feels right' .

The needle is threaded with 5 strands of Soie d'Alger silk. Sometimes, I replace some of these strands with a few strands of Eterna Silk for contrast or shine. All stitches are carefully laid with my Tekobari laying tool. The five strands of silk are a blending of three or four different colors which I sometimes refer to as needlepainting. Bright accent color, such as rich copper or bright silver will accent the hair movement.

I stitch 'up' or 'down' in my vertical rows to conserve thread . . . 'The Tribe' faces are actually life size!

I need to be very mindful of anchoring my finishing threads as silk can easily work its way out of the 13 mesh canvas. Stitches begin with a Way Knot (see my article "Start and finish") and end with either a Pin Stitch or a Way Tail. The choice depends on my mood and the remaining length of thread. The Pin Stitch is more secure and is my first choice.

Smooth silky hair is deliberately stitched in contrast to the basketweave face detail. Each emphasizes the 'feel' of the skin or the hair.

I hope this helps a bit when you are next creating hair!