Procrastination Station: Doctor Who, Part Trois

For previous posts about my version of this project see: Part One & Part Deux

The Doctor Who Stitch along was a collaborative project between Jennifer Ofenstein, Aalia Zaman, Kim K, Kristel Carnahan, Jordan F, Angelica Rodriquez, Soma Acharya May 15 - July 31, 2013. For more information & to view the original patterns, click HERE.

  
I have completed the final Doctor Who block! Now to put them all together in a bed runner!

The 11th Doctor as played by Matt Smith is represented here in a design by Soma Acharya. I think she did a great job with his hair, bow tie, & pant cuffs.

 

11th Doctor embroidered by aprilsongstress

 When I first started the stitch along the 12th Doctor had not debuted so I searched around online & found this image by onegemini on deviantART. I flipped it so it is a mirror image of Peter Capaldi.
 

onegemini's 12th Doctor turned to an embroidery pattern

The completed embroidery of the 12th Doctor

War Doctor (John Hurt) was created by Kerry Dustin for Fandom in Stitches after the initial stitch along was over.

War Doctor finished embroidery

13 Doctors ready to be made into a bed runner

I'll post the finished product when complete. Who knows? Maybe this will be my first completed quilt!

No Art Show for Me... This Time

I'm kind of bummed neither of my pieces made it in to the art show, but I didn't really expect it. One was a redwork piece I had finished a while ago. It was based on a gift I made for my little sistar. You can see that post here.

Redwork of Zachary, Fiona, and Schuyler- 6" hoop

The other submission was a new piece I finished just in time to submit. I am really proud of how it turned out.

 I chose this selfie from when Fiona & I were working on her photo essay of the Champlain Canal.

Figuring out the pattern

 I wanted to do something a bit different, so I decided to put words in Fiona's sunglasses. Words to represent the things she thinks & dreams about. I thought of "art," "music," "star." Then I thought of "fame." I decided on "fame" & "art," because I thought that really summed up the struggle between creativity and the desire to be known for that creativity.

Adding words to the glasses

I played around with some different fonts & my handwriting. I asked for opinions on the "art" because I wasn't sure which one I liked better.

I decided against red, even though I was using the redwork style of embroidery that I love & favor. I wanted colors to represent Fiona. I chose black with just a bit of turquoise (DMC #3846) for the sunglasses. Then I framed it in a 10" hoop.

Tween Ambition by Tisha Dolton

Next time I try for an art show, I may have to spring for true framing & work on getting better images.

Redwork Portrait Won a Prize!

Now that I have finished my newest work of art & submitted it to an actual, real-live art show, I figured I let you know how my last competition went. I don't mean to boast or anything, but isn't blogging about sharing? & I am so proud that my embroidery is getting some recognition now that I have stopped being scared & started putting it out there. This blog & you, my readers (& fellow bloggers), have helped me with that! So, "Thank you!"

Mom & I heard back from the DAR this week. Mom's Sunbonnet Sue quilt took 2nd place in the Quilt category in NY State! My redwork portrait pillow took 3rd place in embroidery. This was the essay that went with my piece:

Portraiture has been around for as long as art has existed. Pre-historic human figures were featured in the cave paintings of Lascaux (France), and the rock art of the Anasazi (Southwestern USA).  Throughout recorded history, wealthy people paid artists to render their likeness in oils, marble, and bronze. With the advent of photography in the Nineteenth century, and the subsequent advances in technology through the Twentieth century, more and more people, no matter their circumstances, were able to have their “pictures taken.” Because of the accuracy of photography, artists began the experiment with abstraction, cubism, and surrealism in portraiture. Today, my twelve-year-old daughter is better at snapping a “selfie,” or self-portrait, with her iPod, than I ever was at trying to capture her essence with my own digital camera.

As an artist, my media of choice are thread and fabric. I am an embroiderer focusing on redwork. A few years ago, after seeing the embroidered portraits of embroidery artist, Jenny Hart, I began stitching my own. I started out with a self-portrait, and then moved on to embroidered portraits of my daughter, and nephews. This particular embroidered portrait, Portrait of a Young Woman in Redwork, which I am submitting for your consideration, is a combination, and a continuation of all that came before. Based on a “selfie” taken by my daughter, this portrait is rendered in redwork by me. It is a modern representation of a girl coming of age through a traditional, folk art form popular from 1880-1930. By combining all of these elements, I am Honoring Our Heritage: Art through the Ages.

Below is the embroidered portrait I made of my daughter Fiona from the  selfie she took last year. Rendered in redwork, DMC floss #321, & sewed into a pillow using one of the fabrics from an Alex Anderson redwork fat quarter pack.

Redwork portrait pillow

My 3rd place certificate! My embroidery won't be headed to National this year, but I'm pretty proud of 3rd place. Let's see what next year's theme will be...

3rd place certificate