This year I have finally surrendered to the fact that December is a period of limited hands-on studio work. There are just too many holiday details and business-related organizational tasks that need to get done so, rather than beating myself up over lack of production, I’m going to embrace that approach and actually write it into my plan for 2019.

For one who straddles left brain/right brain thinking rather than falling solidly into either camp, I’m actively working to accept the reality of December in a positive way — not least for the comfortable element of rhythm it contributes to the year’s end. Among many other things, this final week of the year caps off thirty-one days of reflection about the past eleven months – what worked and what didn’t, and of course plenty of excitement as I look ahead.

Mulling over 2018, here are the “10 Best” that I either found or was introduced to this year:

Stonehenge paper – This reasonably-priced workhorse is acid-free, 100% cotton, and comes in sheets or pads. It accepts a variety of media, wet and dry. I like its smooth surface and solid weight.
Saral Transfer paper – As I wrote in my March 8th post, I learned about this product from Michelle Kingdom’s interview on textileartist.org. It’s a great option for transferring an image to fabric. Because it’s available in both light and dark colors, it is possible to use with either dark or light fabrics. The only con is that it is extremely fugitive (a good thing in the long run), so you have to handle the transferred image very gingerly so as not to rub it off too early.
I learned about jazz musician Tommy Flanagan from one of my life drawing mates. Find him on Pandora or Spotify for hours of fabulous background music for drawing, writing, or just plain thinking!
What would I do without podcasts to listen to throughout long stretches of stitching? Here are three that have become my new “go-to’s”:
- But That’s Another Story with Will Schwalbe. Asking the question ‘can one story change the course of your life?’ these one-on-one discussions cover the moments and the books that most affected each creative interviewee (mostly writers).
- Just The Right Book! with Roxanne Coady. As a bookseller with an online book subscription service by the same name, Coady caters to individual tastes. Her podcast is a series of in-depth discussions with authors that are much more than a mere recap of their writings. Try this fascinating episode with author/historian Joseph Ellis: What the Founding Fathers Would Say About America Today
- Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell. If you’ve read any of Gladwell’s books you will appreciate his penchant for above-and-beyond research. This series reinterprets something from the past: a person, event or idea…something, as Gladwell puts it, overlooked or misunderstood.
My Modern Met – A feast of art and design
Sun Star Delde Slide Pen Pouch – This little number is compact, yet I can fit 36 colored pencils in it — and then some. It has a water-resistant lining with a pocket, and the best feature is it doubles as a mobile stand-up holder.
HAND/EYE Magazine – Yes, I’m biased because they recently published my article Paying Attention, but I hadn’t heard of HAND/EYE before the editor contacted me, so I had no idea what I was missing. Because of the brevity of the articles, it’s perfect for dipping into for a quick read and it’s a tremendous resource for learning about the wide scope of though-provoking work currently being made.
The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit – This was the first book I read in 2018 and, aside from art books, it is the only one of the many that followed it that I expect to return to in 2019. It is beautiful literary non-fiction that balances feeling both personal and universally resonate in the connections it draws between us all. I plan to reread it slowly and considerately.

As a parting shot, should you need a boost as you deliberate how to manifest your creative aspirations next year, read Vermont painter Susan Abbott’s inspiring post ‘Choices’.

Best wishes for your creative and productive 2019!

It’s been nice to get back to stitching again after being out of the studio for 10 days and then becoming immersed in computer work in preparation for Drawing Threads at the Gruppe Gallery.

I find that taking pictures mid-process, often at the end of each day, gives me just enough distance to plan out what I’m going to tackle next, while marking the evolution of a piece for later reference.

Water-soluble pen marks on raw silk give me the guidelines I need for adding the stitches which will create the Shibori pattern once the fabric is dyed.

Surprises always occur during the dye process

It’s worth checking out the “wrong” side to see if that might be a better option. I opted for the deeper colors of the “front” in this piece, but it’s still fun to see the strength of the blue on the back-side.

Outlining with stitches of a middle value give me a basic structure to work from. Often, as the piece progresses I’ll stitch over those lines with a color/value that is better for bringing out the form. If you look closely you can see the white lines that are my guide. After reading Michelle Kingdom’s interview on textileartist.org, I learned about graphite paper as a means of getting your initial drawing on cloth. It gives a much cleaner line than the water-soluble pen I had been using.

This is the product that I’ve been using to create my initial outline. I chose white so it would show up on a dark background, but it is available in other colors. While Michelle Kingdom mentioned that the graphite paper she uses is permanent, the lines created by this paper are not. I have to think ahead and be careful not to touch the lined area because it will rub off so easily…both good and bad.

With the deeply dyed background, my images are often a mix of positive and negative. Here, white stands in for what would be a black line if I were drawing on white paper.

I’m fond of the textural effect of the stitches that curl along Quinn’s back, making for a suggestion of fur without being literal.

Stitching her bed opens up an opportunity to play with shapes and textural effects, adding an abstracted element while working in tandem with the pattern of the shibori and the more realistic depiction of Quinn.

Finishing stitches at the end can be tiny additions that subtly affect the whole. These details are time-consuming but one of my favorite parts of the process.

Speaking of details: There was something about her back that was bothering me. It can be a huge breakthrough once you figure out what needs to change, and often it’s just a minor tweak. I removed the 4 stitches that I’ve circled in red – as you will see in the next picture – and it made all the difference.

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All this time spent stitching provides a great opportunity for listening. Not too long ago, my friend and mixed-media/knitting sculptor Eve Jacobs-Carnahan recommended listening to an episode about El Anatsui’s 2009 piece “Black River” on The Lonely Palette podcast. If you are interested in Anatsui’s work, I’m sure you will also find the 23 minutes well spent. Since then, I’ve been catching up on all the Lonely Palette episodes — each discusses one piece from the Boston MFA collection in detail. Host Tamar Avishai dusts off art history, giving listeners context and anecdotes that make you hungry to learn more. See if you don’t agree.

Elizabeth Fram

Eye of the Needle

Tag Archives: Saral transfer paper

10 Best Finds From 2018

10 Days of Stitches

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