12.5" x 12.5"

The story of "Stepping Stones"

After completing Moonshine, I falsely supposed that I would be able to enlarge my next picture and just proceed to stitch. It didn't work that way. The photo which was taken in Jamaica was speaking with a different voice. I needed a new launching pad.

I decided to do a huge photo transfer of the main rock and then medium and small size photo transfers of the smaller rocks and stones in the photo. I sat and stared at the results and didn't have a clue of how to proceed with this creation.

At the time that I was struggling with this piece, I was taking a course on Collage Making at University of Toronto. I took my work in progress to class and presented the problem to the professor.

I asked him how I could possible deal with these disparate parts and turn them into art. He was too smart to do my work for me. The reply was, "I can teach you about collage, I can't teach you how to create!" I was on my own. I sat and pondered some more.
"What do you want to say?" he asked.
"I don't know!" I realized that was ridiculous. Why do the piece then? Was it just about creating a decoration?
He spoke again, "If you do nothing, you have nothing. If you do something, you have something"
We all know that, right? Sometimes we need to hear the obvious in a new way.

- Bravely (sarcasm), I cut the photo transfers with a sharp scissor and a newly opened mind. Then I placed the new smaller sections of the photo transfers onto my needlepoint canvas and shifted them until I was satisfied with the composition. I also included a polished cotton fabric which had the color that felt right for this piece.

- These pieces were basted onto the canvas. I proceeded to stitch with a variety of long stitches, beads, French knots, and basketweave to create the feeling of water splashing, water crashing on rocks and water trickling through stones.

- For the first time, I experimented with quilting some of the rocks giving further dimension to the canvas. I also couched with blanket stitch giving a rounded definition to the rock shapes. Most of the stitching was done with cotton floss to keep the piece simple. Silk was used to highlight and shine.

I worked from top to bottom, moving with the flow of the water around the stones while taking direction from my intuition.

I was fascinated with using multiple images in varying sizes. The finished result is actually fun to look at as the eye dances across the Stepping Stones. I wanted to contrast the hard stones with the soft flowing water. I wanted to play with action in still life, color in monotone, and the joy of stitching.

The tough part was learning when enough is enough. I wrote in my journal "Take the piece as far as it can go. I'm not finished with it until it's finished with me". And "I'm enjoying watching the continual evolution. It's giving drama, excitement and Life to me!".

>Click within the stitchings to see the detail images: