4½" x 15"
The story of "Great Casting!"
Whenever I travel, I must have needlepoint with me and it must include a canvas collage. Last winter, before leaving for Florida, I needed to create a canvas collage and my mind was as blank as a new unused canvas.
"Do what you know", I told myself again.
I knew that I had four unstarted canvases painted by Melissa Shirley. I knew that I had a new stash of Japanese print cotton fabric and some new threads, although I didn't have a plan for them.
On impulse, I tossed a Melissa canvas and the Japanese fabric onto my work table and a new piece was born. Now, I knew why I hadn't stitched those canvases till this moment. Timing is everything, and now, ideas and solutions were really easy!
The next part was easy too!
Within an afternoon, I had cut fabric and motifs at random, placed them around the border of the piece, basted them into place and my travel piece was ready. After a trip to two needlepoint stores for some missing colors and textures, I happily packed too many threads and my newest creation. The working name for this piece was 'Gone Fishing'.
For those of you who know this piece or may have stitched it, you will see that I've enlarged the piece by changing the horizontal borders.
The bottom painted border has been partially covered with appliqué designs. I also extended the 'sand' below that border to allow the viewer to visually enter the scene. I used 'white out' to paint over the top border, enabling me to stitch the pale sky colour without any dark showing through.
'Great Casting' did a lot of traveling with me while we were in Longboat Key. My friend Lucinda Hathaway (serendipitytours.com, and stitchamaze Guest Gallery) had me on the 'show and share' circuit. We took 'Great Casting' to Sun Stitchers (ANG). Lucinda introduced us to my new friend Candy at her needlepoint shop, Alex-Paras Needlearts (apneedlearts.com) in St. Petersburg Fl. My talented stitching friend Clemmie Rounds (stitchamaze Guest Gallery) continued the 'show' and introduced us to the ladies at Sarasota EGA.
One morning, while peacefully enjoying my stitching, the fire alarm blared out in my condo building. I picked up 'Great Casting', my condo key and nothing else and walked down eleven flights of stairs with my needlepoint. I wasn't going to let all that work get ruined!
When I returned home with my finished piece, still unnamed, I took it to my Chiropractor. Being an avid fisherman, he might be able to help. Immediately he exclaimed "Great Casting!"
This piece was exhibited at the ANG Seminar in Reno this fall, 2004. Although it didn't win an award, my 'Great Casting' was on Tony Minieri's 'favorites' list and that's an award!
Technique
The fibers are tactile: soft velvet, smooth silk, rough metallic, puffy silk sashes, padded hairdos, smooth water.
Outline stitching in many areas of the clothing enhance movement. Outline stitching gives the fish its rounded shape.
There is contrast of calm and turbulence. The smooth water is laid silk floss, stitched in the direction of the water flow. The calm sky and serene faces are basketweave. The grainy sand is cross stitch. I wanted the sky, water and sand to appear realistic so each area is stitched with blended fibers and colors. I've mixed cotton and silk overdyes and solids.
The contrasting border provides movement and sparkles with the collage of foliage, vines, sunshine, couched spirals. The use of French knots, beads, metallic, silks, velvet and cottons are vibrant with texture although subdued in color. Border spirals are couched with the garment colors to merge the outer border with the inner figures.
The outer border of basketweave weaves in and around the appliqués, joining all parts.
All of the details were chosen to enhance the joy and playfulness of the painted canvas, to entice the imagination and the tactile senses.
>Click within the stitchings to see the detail images: