Thursday, January 27, 2022

Paper, Paint, Stitch and More ... Lesson 1

Overview

The difficulty for me in organizing this course, was not what I wanted to share with you, but how to edit what I wanted to share.  I have been exploring and experimenting with my two loves, paper and stitch for a while now, trying to find what appeals most to me, where my creative bent lies.  I’m coming to think I have a rather split personality in that regard.

I’m attracted to very precise stitching on paper, geometric and linear as well as a very random and almost raw or organic stitching. I find white on white appealing and Zen-like while appreciating the shock value of a single vivid colour on white.  There is beauty and soul in a limited, muted colour palette.  Manipulation of paper can add dimension as well as texture to a stitched piece giving complexity versus simplicity.  Adding metal opens up new areas to explore.  There are no boundaries.  I am only now beginning to narrow down some of the elements that strongly appeal to me.

What I am hoping to do in this six week class  is show you some of the paths I’ve travelled; expose you to techniques I’ve come across in my journey (and wherever possible provide you with references and video links to those techniques) and show you some of the work of the artists who’ve inspired me.

Not every technique will be of interest to every person and not every style will appeal.  I’m hoping that you will take what appeals and follow that path.  Every creative journey is unique and meanders in its own way.  It’s my hope that over the next six lessons you will discover some interesting paper/textile artists and add to your own repertoire of skills.


Lesson 1

Lesson 1 Presentation Video

My Samples

You can look at stitching on paper from a couple of perspectives: hand stitching, machine stitching, and a combination of the two

Points to consider when Hand stitching

  • ·     Paper is not forgiving – when you make a hole to stitch through, it’s permanent – there is no unpicking your work.  The only thing you can do it live with it or cover it up with more paper.
  • ·     The thicker the paper, the harder it is to sew through but the more stable the surface
  • ·     The more layers you have, the harder it is to sew through
  • ·     The thicker the thread, the larger the needle eye, therefore the larger the hole required
  • ·      When you have thick paper or a lot of layers of paper, it is hard to be spontaneous with your stitches because the holes for stitching usually need to be pre-punched for sewing
  • ·     When pre-punching holes, do so on a soft surface – a layer of foam or several newspapers (something that has a bit of give to it)

Tools for Stitching Paper: A Flashback to the Past

Beginners Hand Stitching for Paper Crafts - YouTube

Simple Geometric Stitching on Cards - YouTube



Points to consider when machine stitching

  • ·      Use a longer than normal stitch length – stitches that are too close together will simply perforate the paper making it easy to tear along the stitch line
  • ·      Dedicate one needle to working on paper – paper will eventually dull the needle and you won’t want to use it on fabric.  (mark it with a bit of marker or nail polish so you can tell which one is for paper use)
  • ·      Free motion embroidery is possible on paper – making an outline of an image or adding text on multiple layers or backed with thin muslin
  • ·      Tension is not always the same for paper as for fabric so test on a scrap (standard procedure)

 

Fundamental tips for machine sewing into paper - YouTube

Free machine embroidery....on paper?! - YouTube     10 min  starts the actual construction of the collage to be stitched.



Artist Links 

Donna Menses Cunha

Emily Barletta

Emily Barletta instagram

Karen Ruane

Karin Lundstrom instagram

Lars Christensen   gallery link

Reiko Koga

Sharon Etgar

Zen Threads Studio instagram

Shawn Kardinal instagram

Shawn Kardinal

Fiona Dempster

Izzy Moore

Izzy and Gina -- In Stitches podcast series

Amanda Hislop

Shellie Holden

Kirsty Whitlock


 Bits and Pieces  -- looking at ephemera that we can make for our pieces

 

Books

A Look at Books

Mixed Media Master Class with Sherrill Kahn  (50+ Surface Design Techniques for Fabric and Paper)

Cut, Shape, Stitch: Working Creatively with Cutting Machines by Maggie Grey, Samantha Packer and Paula Watkins

Long Diaries, Tall Tales: Making Narrative Textiles by Maggie Grey

Paper, Metal, Stitch by Maggie Grey and Jane Wild

Surface Treatment Workshop: Explore 45 Mixed Media Techniques by Darlene Olivia McElroy and Sandra Duran Wilson

Stitched Textiles: Seascapes by Amanda Hislop

Textures from Nature in Textile Art by Marian Jazmik

Stitch, Cloth, Paper and Paint by Angie Hughes

Storytelling with Collage by Roxanne Evans Stout

Paper Quilting: Creative Designs using Paper and Thread  by Bridget Hoff



Templates

The pink and purple card needs three lines of holes.  The top line has 11, the middle line has two groups of 4 and the bottom line has 11.

The second card has five lines of 11 holes each.  A single strand of bright (in this case, it was neon) embroidery thread, is used for each colour. You start with the middle hole at the top to begin the first of the 3 large closed diamond shapes.  You have a video link in your notes that shows you how to make this design.  It is a good lead into the kind of work that Ness Donnelly does.  Laura Bassen, the creator of these cards follows Rachel Parker on Instagram.  She did similar work.

 









This is how you would set up your stitching holes.  Diamond 1 would be stitched in #1 holes, diamond 2 in #2 holes, diamond 3 in #3 holes and diamond 4 is in two parts. It starts open on the top row and crosses over at the center row and crosses back to the bottom row making a small diamond in the centre.  The remainder of the holes simply go from the top of one side to the bottom of the opposite side.  The video gives a complete demonstration.  

 Simple Geometric Stitching on Cards - YouTube






1 comment:

Marlene said...

This is so well-organized and informative! Thank you.

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