It felt great this past week to get back to my embroidery frame and to begin a new stitched portrait. I had been casting around in the studio wondering who or what would be my next subject when, as so often happens, the answer appeared out of nowhere.
I start each piece by drawing the image directly on the silk. For those of you who are interested in such things, this is by far the best water soluble pen I have ever used. Other brands tend to dry out very quickly, but this one is going strong after almost a year. Part of this may be because the top snaps on quite tightly.
In an email from one of the many art organizations that regularly add to my inbox, I stumbled upon one artist’s brilliant observation in response to a general request for favorite art business lessons from 2021: what you create is “just the beginning”. On the surface that sounds so basic it’s almost silly, but when you stop to think about it, it’s pure gold.
This past week I have been making my way through the initial stage of the process: stitching the image with white silk thread on un-dyed raw silk. I tend to keep adding guidelines with the erasable pen as I go along. They act as a directional guide for the stitches, helping me to better describe the form I’m trying to represent.
She went on to clarify what a game-changer it was to realize that each piece she makes isn’t necessarily a one-off, merely to be archived, but rather just the first step in a continuum that builds upon itself.
© 2019 Elizabeth Fram, Graphite on paper, 18 x 23 inches The life drawing that is my inspiration.
In other words, pretty much everything we make creates a foothold for something else that will come later. In this instance, it was like a lightening bolt to realize that my quest for a subject was right here in my studio. I have a stack of pre-covid life drawings to pull from for this and maybe other portraits.
A variation in stitches distinguishes the hair from the facial features.
Whether sourcing drawings in my sketchbook, a particular stitch or dyeing technique used in the past, or some novel approach to layering various media together, every piece I make contributes something to my “toolbox” that I can reference in the future.
With the blue ink removed, the piece becomes a study in textures. The sheen of the silk thread is an important element that allows those textures to stand out. The next step will be to overlap the image with a dyed pattern. Come back in 2 weeks to see the progression.
The bottom line is none of the work we make exists in isolation, in fact, we just keep adding to our limitless creative bank accounts. And the beauty of that fact is they are always available to draw from when needed.
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Opening this week at Studio Place Arts: A world of portraits by 30 different artists, including yours truly.
The Woolgatherer, detail ©2019 Elizabeth Fram, Stitched-resist dye and embroidery on silk, 16 x 16 inches.
Face It
January 26 – March 5, 2022
Studio Place Arts
201 N. Main Street
Barre, VT 05641
Gallery Hours: Wed – Fri: 11:30am – 5pm, Sat:11:30am – 4pm
Art Social: Saturday, February 19, 3:30 – 5pm (masks required) …..Hope to see you there!
Great post, Elizabeth!
I’ve started cutting into old portrait samples and reassembling them to see what I can see. The journey is interesting and I’m certainly along for the ride.
Love that idea Kate! Maybe I’ll see some of your explorations on Instagram? Hope so…
Just simply beautiful….enough said. Grateful for your wisdom, grace and ability to capture beauty wherever you wander, pulling all the threads together.
You are always so generous with your responses Adrianna. I think the reality is closer to the fact that you have the sensitivity to find and see beauty, no matter the circumstances.