Article for Website on Exhibit Winners from 2006

The Internet Committee thanks Barbara Richardson for going through the Exhibit in Tucson and selecting the items below. Barbara Richardson was the Local Seminar Coordinator for Seminar 2006 and Previous ANG Secretary.

In viewing this Exhibit it was wonderful to see a variety of stitches, threads and finishing ideas. Through the use of color and textures needlepoint pieces have become works of art. Although many of us did not receive ribbons it was great to have the opportunity to be inspired by the beautiful display of needlework. From the classic basketweave pieces to the innovative use of stitches and attachments and from pillows, framed pictures, boxed pieces, wall hangings to three-dimensional standing figures there was something for everyone to enjoy. Among those I have selected for the website five were first time exhibitors. I selected non-professional ribbon winners and asked them to share their comments on how and why they stitched a particular piece. I hope you enjoy their review and will consider entering future exhibits to share your love of needlepoint with others.

104NP (3rd Place and Judges Choice)
"Inside the Egg"
Carol Leonard

I started this piece for the Tucson 2006 ANG Seminar ‘Quest’ challenge to use at least 25% red and orange to make a lively piece. I had been thinking of a broken eggshell, and what might, surprisingly, be inside a fossilized egg from the southwest: a miniature universe. I am a stitcher who creates ‘on the canvas’ so although I may start with a vague idea, I let the threads and colors take over and do not follow a specific design. The contrast of red and orange on black canvas did not open up this piece. The small metallic ‘bits’ piling up at the bottom of the piece did not bring it life either. Adding a green metallic for the broken eggshell gave it that burst of energy that I was looking for.

I was delighted to see that this needlepoint piece received ribbons. In exhibiting my original design pieces I hope to encourage other stitchers to take needle in hand and let imagination fly.

107NP (2nd Place)
"Chips and Salsa"
Jody Maple

I like the process of trying to interpret a theme into my style of needlework. I especially like the challenge of finding a way to develop and produce the concept I have in my head.

The theme for Quest 2006 was "Make it Hot and Spicy" and the first thought I had was chips and salsa. The challenge was to interpret that in stitches. Tomatoes, peppers, chilies, and onions, all scooped up with a crisp corm chip, but in fabric and thread!

First, I sponge painted 28ct. lugana in shades orange and red. A metallic gold pepper was painted freehand. Then I used various counted thread techniques, including hardanger and blackwork, to stitch the "chips" around the pepper. I decided. the pepper would be completely beaded. I started with some pre-made bead mixes and added other red and gold beads for variety. On a trip to Arkansas I found a bead shop with petrified wood beads that looked like corn, so I used them to accent the "chips".

201NP (1st Place)
"The Bear of Joy"
Faye Robinson
Designer – Joan Thomasson

I saw Joan Thomasson's bear or bears and knew I wanted to make one. I did a workshop with EGA at Fort Walton Beach, Florida. I started my bear in pastels and almost immediately I changed my mind and redrew some of the pieces and changed to Christmas. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I have made many decorations and usually stitch an ornament for each child and grandchild. Anyway, Joan did give us some pictures and ideas, also lots of threads and I used threads from my stash also.. I have never undertaken such an ambitious project before. My goal was to incorporate all aspects of the holiday season - church, angels, Santa, wreaths, snow, jingle bells, children's toys, snowman and holly. I chose all of the designs, threads and stitches with great difficulty as I had never done anything like this before. A considerable amount of time was spent looking at stitches in books and in my past works, trying to determine which would best express the essence of each design. And getting all designs to properly fit and balance in the overall piece, considering the odd shapes of the bear's elements, was a further challenge. My bear has a tattoo on his butt - my initials and the year, very faint, but I wanted it to be there as someday Bear of Joy will go to my only granddaughter (all the rest of the grandchildren are grandsons).

I am a 69 year old stitcher who started stitching in 1994 when we retired and went on the road, traveling full time in an RV. After we settled in Pensacola I joined stitching guilds and have taken lots of classes.

313NP (3rd Place)
"Pattenrs from the Past"
Susan Heider
Designer: Marnie Ritter

In 2003, I attended a class Marnie Ritter taught at Diversions Needlepoint in Denver, CO. It was a class in stitch painting and it was very informational. However, the real inspiration was when Marnie showed us her newest work on mocha congress cloth, "Patterns from the Past: Patrones de la Historia". I knew I had to do it as a challenge project for myself. The last sampler I stitched was in 1981 when I began cross stitch. When I saw this piece, I felt a sudden inspiration to do a sampler again. I felt congress cloth and silk would be just the challenge I was looking for. Marnie said it would be available as ANG Workshop by Mail Project.

As soon as it was available on the ANG web site, I enrolled. When I received the list of supplies, I couldn't wait to pull the beautiful Soie d'alger and Silk Mori fibers. The colors were fresh yet soft and rich. The bands were stitched in an asymmetrical cross shape and it was different than any sampler I had seen before. I didn't change one color or one motif -- I stitched it as designed!

I worked on the project for about 18 months and found the piece to be both a challenge and a great change of pace from hand painted canvases. Once the project was completed, I was stumped about framing the piece. I looked at it for several months before I took it to the framer. She selected the perfect mat and found a stunning frame that repeated one of the motifs in the sampler.

I felt a great sense of accomplishment about my perseverance to complete these tiny and exact stitches as flawlessly as possible. The original sampler was stitched in 1846 in Mexico City and for me, this project linked me to the rich and vast heritage of needlepoint.

318NP (Honorable Mention)
Mini Perle Goes to Tucson
Mary Katherine Lobel
Designer: Jean Hilton

Needlepoint is my therapy. While I do enjoy painted canvases, my real love is working from charts. Taking a blank canvas and watching the picture unfold is magic to me. I've always admired the talented designers who can visualize a design and actually put those images on paper and canvas. Many times I will change the colors of a piece, as I did with Jean Hilton's fabulous Mini Perle design, depending on my mood period. I was having a "yellow canvas" period when I began to imagine this piece completed. Yellow canvas is such a gorgeous background for oranges and purples. At times, I will see my completed project years later and go back to stitch the piece in the designer's original colors. Being able to have a completely different picture with just the change of colors is part of the magic of charted work.

325NP (2nd Place)
"Tucson Twilight"
Cynthia Land
Designer: Laura J. Perin

First of all, the color purple in combination with the earth tones attracted me to this piece. I also am drawn to geometrics. I like graphs that look more complex than they really are. I have done several projects from Laura J Perin designs. Another of my favorites is "Turquoise Trail" to which I also added embellishments. The very striking embellishments that I added to "Tucson Twilight" are raku beads from the sizable stash that I have been collecting over the years by going to bead shows. I have always been drawn to raku and have several pieces of raku bowls at home. The coloration is just spectacular. Luckily, the raku beads were a perfect compliment to "Tucson Twilight." A small adjustment to the stitch guide had to be made to accommodate one of the beads. I made some slight changes of fiber because I did not have one of the fibers on the list but had something similar. Finally, I am a fairly recent transplant to Colorado and like so much of southwest art. "Tucson Twilight" was a perfect way to create the look of the southwest.

414NP (2nd Place and Small Masterpiece Award)
Mushka
Diane Marks
Designer: Rishfield Designs

I was browsing in a needlepoint shop, which I do more than I should. My eyes fixed on a canvas by Rishfeld Designs. It was the tilt of the cat's head that reminded me of my own cat Mushka. I commented to a friend how it looked just like him, although she said I was crazy! The gauntlet was thrown down.

I began by painting out the background to a solid black to draw focus only to the cats face. I took photos of Mushka and found fibers which would match my cat. I wound up using Whisper, Burmilana, Splendor and some fibers from Habu textiles out of New York. I was especially proud to see an idea I had long ago, using horsetail as whiskers, come to fruition.

The canvas was given to my son as a gift last Christmas (2005) with the promise of completion, now I am pleased to be giving him ribbons along with the piece.

A special thanks should go to Ina Praminik, she gave me the encouragement I needed to send "Mushka" to nationals, without her none of this would be happening. Additional thanks goes to Barb Richardson for bestowing this additional honor upon "Mushka"

517NP (3rd Place)
"Buffalo Gourd"
Larry J. Block
Designer: Sedona Editions

It is so neat that someone else really enjoys this piece. I was totally twitterpated when I found I had won a ribbon. The most I had expected was a pat on the head

I was born and raised in Texas and have loved the Southwest, its vastness, its colors, its textures, its sky that goes on forever. I have been a potter and collector of pots, Indian art, etc. When I saw this piece in one of the catalogues, I, of course, fell for it immediately.

I have been working with Meredith in embellishment classes for a couple of years. So, naturally I went to her for suggestions as to stitches, techniques, etc. We chose the wool naturally for the blanket; the Pebbly Pearl for the adobe to give it the best texture; the cotton for the pots to give it the smoothness and shine. Colors were chosen to project the difference in light in various parts of the room. One always has to keep light source in mind.

I wanted to give the canvass back its "life", to give it texture, dimension, the illusion that you were merely looking in a window, and if you reached in you could "feel" the objects. We chose the stitches to achieve that effect. To further enhance that same idea, I added the dimension of "real" rope on the pots and the real fringe on the blanket.

The most difficult part of this project was "keeping it real". The shading had to be so subtle. I would stitch an inch and then go stand in the doorway to look at it for 10 minutes. Sometimes it meant taking out 5 stitches and toning it down. Then I would take it to Meredith's class and ask, 'What am I not seeing?"

535NP (2nd Place)
"Catwalk"
Dale Miller
Designer: Sharon G

I liked the canvas that Sharon G painted because of her use of bright colors and the modern art deco design for a change from traditional needlework. I have seen some of her other pieces that have been stitched with the guidance of Brenda Hart and have always liked the way they turned out because Brenda's vision is very light and therefore allows the beauty of the painted canvas to show through. When purchasing a painted canvas, they are expensive and it is nice to allow some of that beauty to show through by being light handed with the threads and that is one of Brenda's strong points when suggesting not only stitches along with the thread choice. Frankly, I am still amazed that the Judges liked it. I thought it would be to modern to appeal to them. It just goes to show you, do not be afraid to enter your pieces - this was my first time and I only entered it because I was part of the Tucson Guild and wanted us to make a good showing in the Exhibit. WOW I won a ribbon my first time out - DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ENTER EVEN IF YOU THINK IT IS TO FAR OUT - you too could win a ribbon! I encourage each and everyone to enter the Exhibit. This was the first time I have entered in 30+ years of stitching. I never dreamed in a 1,000 years that I would win a ribbon with this piece - but I did!

603NP (Honorable Mention)
"Joaquin"
Jane Lovet
Designer: Jane Juell

Joaquin, a painted canvas standing Indian figure, was designed exclusively for our CACTUS WREN CHAPTER in Green Valley, Arizona by Jane Juell from Tucson. He was to be a chapter educational project. We were supplied the canvas and stitch guide. Jane suggested threads and stitch patterns. The idea of making it my own intrigued me so I changed the suggested colors and made my own stitch guide. This was quickly becoming a FUN project! I added many embellishments to Joaquin. Among them were fur and leather from Alaska; a real arrowhead; corn earrings made by Indians; turquoise beads and real quail feathers that were placed in a self-made little clay pot. I also found a feather headpiece in a bridal shop...perfect last touch!

I enjoyed this piece so much that I hated to see it come to an end. However, I have always believed that the joy I've had from stitching a special piece shines through and is reflected in my work.

631NP (Arizona State Award)
"Bouquet"
Linda Monahan
Designer: Amy Wolfson

This is my first piece submitted to an ANG Seminar Exhibit. "Bouquet" was a pilot class presented to our Saquaro Stitchers Chpater in Phoenix, Az October 2004 by Amy Wolfson.

This pilot project was designed to use much of one’s "stash". We were given free reign, however, to use our own thread and color choices as well as being encouraged to change a stitch or placement of stitches as we wished. I wanted to adapt this piece to compliment the colors of my daughter’s floor rug. Together, my daughter and I sat down and created an adaptation leaning toward a single flower, rather than a full bouquet. This project was fun, helped my creative juices to get out of the box and provided a wonderful opportunity for my daughter and I to work together. Needlepoint is so much more than just stitching.

634NP (3rd Place)
"Floral Opulence"
Mary Jo Langford
Designer: Kay Stannis

My daughter, Patsy Samples, and I try to get together at the national seminar when possible. The Washington Seminar was perfect since my other daughter lives in the area. After much time on the phone (Patsy lives in Illinois and I in South Carolina) we chose to do the "Floral Opulence." The only change I made was substituting beads for the French knots which are not my favorite thing. We both felt it was a wonderful learning experience with an excellent teacher, Kay Stannis.

Tucson was our fifth seminar together and we thought you guys did a marvelous job. The facilities were outstanding. Seeing that third place ribbon next to my work was icing on the cake!