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