Looking back at the small body of work I have amassed over the last few months I seem to be on yet another journey. I laid the pieces out in the order I made them and could clearly see the way each new piece had evolved. My first rather loud attempts at new ways of working with paint, paper, print and abstract forms were loosely connected to experiments from many years ago. The little circular and square printing blocks are so old that I am surprised they haven’t disintegrated! I obviously decided that my first attempts were a worthy starting point but quickly moved on to softer more thoughtful pieces with more stitching.
But, so very quietly and without it being a conscious decision I seem to have fallen back into a little bit of a comfort zone regarding my subject matter..... yes the floral elements have returned!!
I remain quite amazed at how the application of pastels, paints and printing to the softest tissue paper produces a new fabric which is robust enough to withstand machine stitching with no puckering or distortion.
The above piece is from a work in progress where I am trying a little denser stitching. Moving on I will try printing the grass stems separately possibly using different colours, I think this will enable me to make clearer and cleaner shapes for stitching.
Whilst out walking and enjoying the ever changing countryside last week I found my first poppies in full bloom. The petals were almost translucent in the strong sunshine and I wondered how such delicate flowers were able to stand up to the terrific winds we have at the moment. I resolved to return with my camera the following day but sadly the petals had flown in the wind. Luckily some poppies in my garden were still standing so I will leave you with a few images of their beauty in all its stages.