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Stitcher's comments:
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This canvas collage titled
In My Elements encompasses many memories and chapters of my life.
Born in gold mining country and having memories of my father's
jewelry store, gold was my first elemental association. The weather elements of Kirkland Lake, being so far north, also played an important role in my life. I experienced the changing seasons, brilliant rust, orange and plum colours of the fall leaves, white and silver of snow and ice, greens and pastels of spring awakening, the solid greens of summer. The element of texture appeared in my life in the form of thread and embroidery at the early age of around seven or eight, as my maternal grandfather owned a dry good store and I was able to choose my 'paints' from his DMC Floss boxes.
The inspiration for this piece arose from a fabric that I lovingly called "the ugliest fabric that I've ever seen", because of the red/green components which didn't suit my esthetic sense. On the other hand, I wanted the fabric because of the geometric design which was just "asking" to be cut and positioned and surface stitched to become tactile and exciting. However, after hours of work I felt I still didn't have a design that had a pleasing flow and balance, and in a moment of inspiration I created a diamond instead of a square!
Photo transfer was the missing element I was looking for. I searched my stash of photos and found the picture of me in my nature element. Excitedly I thought, "that's it!" I found that I could surface stitch on the transfer with bright threads and by doing this, intensify the image which had been muted in the transfer process. I also created some of my own colour rules: less matching is more effective. The complex colour variations allow all aspects of the piece to stand out and make a contribution to the total effect. As in the true elements of nature, matching is not a concern. I then proceeded to dig deep into my stash and to 'paint' with my fibers, stitches imitating leaves, flowers, rocks, stepping stones, spiders, spider webs, paths, sun's rays, warm days waning as cool weather moves forward in nature and
In My Elements.
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