Why I Paint My Own Orders

Yesterday, I finished painting an order for a shop.  The piece is one that is no longer being featured in my line that is distributed by Sundance Designs.  But, when someone remembers a piece and requests it, I am happy to oblige!

When I got ready to paint, I first had to find the master copy.  There in the pile, in the box, under the bed, along with the master, was a second canvas already painted.  This one had been painted by a copy artist, back in the day when I tried to use them.  The reason this canvas was never sent out is the subject of my blog post today.

But first, a little background.  I am not opposed to any designer using copy artists.  I would gladly join the ranks of successful designers who use them:  Lani, Melissa Shirley are just two who come to mind!  I am also thinking of Leigh of Leigh Designs.  Love you Leigh!  Your work is amazing and astonishing and wonderful, and that only taps the surface of my admiration for your talent!  Leigh explained to me one time, how she has a staff of copy artists that she personally trained, and oversees while they work 'in house' on her property.  I envisioned  Leigh standing over them with a bull whip, snatching the brushes out of their little hands when they screwed up!   LOL!

At one time, I also envisioned that if someone else could paint my designs, that would free me up to design more and more and more canvases, and also to stitch them!  Thus began a series of unfortunate and miserable events in that quest.  I won't go into the gory details but I'll show you what I mean.  Because it was expensive and I didn't have time to keep experimenting with different people, I decided to just stick with doing it myself.   And I'm happy with that decision.  I do enjoy the painting process, even though it can be tedious sometimes.  But those times give me moments to reflect on many things, listen to audio books or music, and sometimes watch tv..or at least, listen to it also.  And when one is 'in the groove' of canvas and paint, it can be very enjoyable.

So..here is why I paint my own orders.   This is the order I completed yesterday.  One is the Master and one was done by a copy artist.  If you click on each image, you can see them enlarged.  But before you do that, they both look pretty good here, don't they?

Or do they?  Let's take a closer look........Click away....I'll let the images speak for themselves.

 So...the verdict is yours.  It was mine too, along with the conclusion was that I will paint my own orders.   UNLESS..... someone hands me a bull whip and builds me a big studio warehouse and I see a big long line of talented copy artists on the horizon, all anxiously awaiting to do my work for me.  LOL!!

All That Fun Stuff!

I was surprised to see that my last blog post was dated July 12th!  Well, I have been extremely busy!  My 4 sisters and I put together a big birthday bash for our Mother's 90th Birthday!  We had 120 people in attendance at a wonderful lunch in her honor on Labor Day.  This was quite an accomplishment to achieve considering that we all live in 3 different states, and almost all of the planning was by email communication!

Just because I want to brag, here is a photo of our beautiful Mother, 90 yrs. young on her special day!  She is such an inspiration for us all, with her upbeat attitude and cute sense of humor.  Even though she is legally blind with macular degeneration, she still manages to live alone in her little home, which she navigates comfortably inside and out.  She is always positive and has lots of stories to tell, which we all love to hear.  So Happy Birthday Mom!  And may each day be full and bright and interesting for you!

Speaking of full and interesting, that is what I want to focus on in this blog entry about my stitching.
I ADORE my life and work in the needlework industry.  Being creative is what makes me happy and it gives me such joy to share my ideas and designs with others.

When I first started to design painted canvases in 1985, and finally to stitch some of my own designs a few years later, needlepoint was still very conservative with not a lot of embellishment or fancy threads being used, nor many different stitches either.  Then, in the late 80's..early 90's, enter silk ribbon embroidery.   I'm not sure of the date, but I do remember when I first saw a little Bucilla kit featuring silk ribbon work.  It was a little fabric heart with some flowers on it.  I saw it at Sundance  Needleworks (back in the day when they owned a retail shop).  The kit had been sitting on display for quite a while, I was told, and no one seemed interested in it.  Of course, it needed to be stitched as a model, but no one at Sundance wanted to do it or learn how to do it.  With some twisting of my arm, the owners thrust that kit upon me, and told me to 'work on it.'  (It was pretty much like that!  LOL!)  And I did.  And I fell in love!  And I began to incorporate silk ribbon work into my canvas designs.   And the rest is history!

                                                       From that
                                                           to
                                                       This......

                                                               

Fast forward to today!  I can't get enough of all That Fun Stuff, which now means not only silk ribbons, but for me, often adding paint to stitched work, putting on the glitz with gobs of beads, sequins, and all kinds of embellishments!  Think tiny doll dishes, neon lighting, buttons,  and felting techniques!  Oh, and the fibers and threads!  OMGOSH!  Talk about heart palpitations!  The metallics, the fuzzys, the neons, the very velvets, the thick and thin braids, the fiber covered wires that bend, the SPARKLES!!!  The array of fabulous materials to stitch with is endless!

I have not even mentioned all the decorative stitches and the teachers, and the book authors who compile all these stitches together in a format that we can all access, even on our phones!  It is all just too wonderful!  And to think, that not so long ago, in the 1970's, (ok, some of you weren't even born yet!) when needlepoint was at it commercial height, all anyone knew to do was use wool threads!

Which brings me to my point:  Today, anything goes!  And today is a good day to tell you about something I am very excited about!  Beginning the new year, 2013, I will be teaching a 12 month  class at BeStitched Needleworks in Scottsdale, AZ.   This will be just like the classes conducted by quilt shops, where one gets a 'block of the month' to create, and at the end of the year, you have a completed quilt!  In this case, I am going to be stitching right along with my students each month, to have a completed Princess Chandelier!  I can't tell you how excited I am to do this.  I will have to agree that my chandelier pieces  are very large (Approximately 23"X24"), and that can seem overwhelming.  But think about it:  If you stitch just a small portion each month (and I have it all broken down for you!), it is easily doable in 12 months time.

OH, you have NO IDEA of the Fun Stuff that will be incorporated on this canvas!  Here is a peek of just one of the monthly portions that I'll be teaching.

HINT:  Silk Ribbons, Fabric applique, Memory Thread, Sundance beads, Neon Rays, Stump work, Overdyed Threads, Decorative stitches...And when we get to those silver scrolls, we will be using Silver Sparkles to create the most elegant swirls you have ever laid eyes on!

Look for further details in an upcoming issue of Needlepoint Now. 
I can't wait!  In the mean time, I'm stitching up more Fun Stuff all the time.

Happy 4th of July!

It's time to celebrate our Nation's Independence again!  I hope you get to.....

                               
                                                                  Watch a Parade!

         

                                                               Eat some Cherry Pie!

Watch a Spectacular Show!  (The American Astronaut, canvas designed by my daughter Aunna Elm.)

        Sit in your comfy chair and do some stitching!

       God Bless America and let's all be safe and kind to one another!

I have felt so remiss lately because it has been weeks since I did a blog post.  I have been Busy!  It has been a full summer with teaching, suffering summer colds, cranking out orders, writing stitch guides, stitching, designing, and having out of town family visiting.  (Loved That!)  The next few weeks are already filled up as well, so I decided to re-post two old blog entries from 2009.

Yesterday, our first summer monsoon arrived!  If anyone knows about AZ monsoon season, you know this is a highly anticipated event.  It heralds in cooling relief for the next several weeks from the intense 'dry' heat the region is famous for.  Yesterday's arrival was a bit of a surprise.  Usually the day falls in mid July, after weeks of seeing the clouds build every afternoon.  But what a lovely surprise it was!  And IF ONLY I could market the smell of Arizona wet earth, dampened by rain!  I'd be a billionaire!  I envision selling it in spray cans, so people could aerate their rooms and walk around in aromatic bliss!  Moods would change...people would be more kind, cheerful.  They would also feel more energized from the faux ions charging the air.  Lots of stitching would get done!  Chores would be whipped right out, with no grumbling!  Colors would appear brighter, more vibrant.
Ok..ok, but Hey...placebo works, right?

Here's the placebo effect in stitch!  Enjoy and go gaze at your own clouds!




 

Janet Perry sent me a photo of this piece called Gibraltar, inspired by Clarice Cliff’s pottery.  I don’t know about Clarice’s pottery, but I’m going to find out.  I bet it is very appealing!  The clouds stitched here are in Nobuko stitch using Medici and have a whipped backstitch outline.  Very nice!



Well OK now....Thank You  Google for enlightening me!  She was only
“The most prolific and possibly important Art Deco ceramics designer of
the Twentieth Century!”    Here are two of her pieces where the influence
for the above canvas is surely represented:



Such designs would be very engaging to stitch!  Very graphic and bold clouds, these!  The stitches used in the Gibraltar clouds are the right choice.





Sundance Designs mother/daughter team conspired on this beautiful landscape which they taught at a Sundance stitching retreat in (where else!) Sedona, AZ , probably 10 years ago.  Nandra Hotchkiss selected the threads and stitches, for which she has an amazing talent!  She can study a piece and see the perfect stitch in her mind’s eye, just as they will appear!  Her mother Cassie stitched the piece beautifully and skillfully, following Nandra’s instructions.
(I bet she didn’t even have to rip out!)



Here again, as in the Gibraltar piece, the clouds are bold and graphic, reminiscent of the Art Deco period.  These types of designs are very satisfying to stitch because the ‘layout’ is easy to follow, easily defined, and shows off the various stitch patterns to their fullest.   Nandra brilliantly chose progressively darkening colors for the receding clouds, as if a thunder storm were brewing!



 My final word for you today (June 17, 2012) is this:   For the ultimate in Cloud Stitching...check out  the Stitch Landscape book by Little Shoppe Canvas Company, inc.  ©2011
I've never seen such beautiful stitches for clouds 'under one roof!'  Not to mention flowers, grass, mountains, sand, shrubbery, sky, snow, soil, stone, trees, water.  Yep..that's the stitch reference book to go to!  Ask you LNS to order it for you if they don't have it in stock!  (I received no compensation for this endorsement!)  Happy Stitching, clouds, rain, or not!