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.

Little Sistar present...

3 cousins circa 2005

This is based on a photograph I took of my nephews (brother's sons) & my daughter one Christmas at my brother's house. L-R Zachary (almost 6), Fiona (4.5), Schuyler (7). I usually just make a line drawing straight from the photograph, but in this case I had played with some software to create a coloring book type image. Don't ask me which one because I cannot remember, 7 years ago & all...

Below you can see I used my trusty light box & a #2 pencil to trace the image on 100% cotton- Kona. My little sistar has a rusty colored kitchen, so I used DMC Variations floss #69, my spring hoop & an I-have-no-idea-what-size needle. It was completed using only one stitch, outline.

Tracing image on Kona cotton

 

 

Embroidery in progress

The framing process

I put some Warm & Natural batting between the embroidered fabric and the mat board, then folded the fabric like an envelope using hot glue to secure the edges.

Below, I cut out a piece of acid free card stock (the kind used for scrap booking) & attached it to the outside of the frame using hot glue. I wrote a note on the back for my sistar using an acid free pen.

"TO: My amazingly talented little sistar! The best P.A.N.K.* my kid could ever have. Love Tisha (Ba-tricia) & Fiona 12/2012 aprilsongstress *Professional Aunt No Kids"

Backing with acid free paper

 The completed embroidery project ready for wrapping & shipping to Las Vegas, NV.

Project complete

P.S. She loved it!