Over the last several months all of my creative focus has been on creating handmade cloth "Stitch Journals" in which I can experiment in and fill up. Here's an example of one of them...
I began by hand painting all of the fabrics, (Jacquard Textile Colors were mainly used).
I then machine stitched the fabrics into pages to later hand-bind into the journal.
When I make the "blank" pages I like to add machine stitched lines and bits of machine stitched appliqué.
(I consider the journal to be "blank" until I fill the pages in with hand stitching.)
Those machine stitched lines, and appliquéd bits, act as "prompts"...
jumping off points for my creativity to land... places for me to eventually fill in with my hand stitching once the journal has been hand bound into a book form.
(Such as what you see in these photos of a completed journal.)
The hand-stitching creates a sort of non-verbal language. One that can be seen and also felt.
Something almost primitive, and very instinctual.
I take great joy in the whole process...
from hand-painting, to hand-binding, to hand-stitching.
All of it is meditative, creative and fulfilling.
And when it's complete, I feel so incredibly satisfied.
I hope this obsession lasts for sometime.
Xo
These are so earthy and textural. I love them!
ReplyDeleteI love textile books as well, it's so much fun to see them come together!
ReplyDeleteDid you add any batting in between to fabric pages or just sew yhem together after finishing the embroidery?
XoXo
Thank you, Sherrie and Hanna!
ReplyDeleteAnd Hanna, yes, I do use batting. 😊
These books are so beautiful! Even just seeing the pages via your photos and my iPad, and not actually holding the book in my hands, I feel as if I could gaze at them for hours. The colors (so rich and complex, but not over-saturated), the designs and the stitching lead the observer (me, in this case) to create my own mental canvases and images that are unique and can’t really be described, but are inspired by your beautiful work.
ReplyDeleteWords fail. Lovely. Just lovely.
Thank you so much, David, for your lovely and kind words. They are most deeply appreciated. xo
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of fabric do you use? I LOVE your journal and I need to make one like it. Acrylic paint, right? I can't wait to start one! Thank you for posting.
ReplyDeleteCrazy Dallas Beader, I use a variety of different types fabrics including cottons, silks, and even polyesters. And no, not acrylics, I prefer paint specifically designed for fabrics. I give all the information on how I make my fabric stitch journals in a 5 part PDF downloadable course, available in my Etsy shop, if interested.
ReplyDelete