Encounters

An abstract piece, which tells the story of all the different kinds of encounters we have in our lifetime, easy ones, lovely ones, difficult ones, interesting ones, the encounters that teach us, the encounters that haunt us, the encounters that encourage us, support us, love us...

I used a lot of different types of stitch and also some beads. I have been working on this piece on and off for several years. It was kind of always present in the background. Because it has accompanied me for such a long time, it has a special place in my heart.

Some details:

And so he went

Strictly speaking this piece is a collaboration with my 5 year old son (now 27). My husband and I were clearing the attic and found this paper lantern our son made, all torn and discoloured. I still recognised the love he put into it and remembered how proud he was, coming home from school with his lantern.

I decided to use the thin paper part that was not torn in a piece on his leaving home.

I glued the paper on a piece of fabric and added stitching, drawing in pencil, a poem (unreadable, which is as intended), and muted or highlighted some parts of the coloured pieces. I also added the suitcase, falling as it were out of the picure.

It has become a meaningful and emotional work to me, in which his childhood and the present time, his art and mine, his energy and my feelings all come together. A bittersweet, but mostly sweet and actually very happy piece, hanging in our living room.

The nature of the material makes it hard to take good pictures, nevertheless, here are some details:

Ceci n'est pas une pipe

Inspired by the work of Sharon Peoples, I used the technique of random cross stitch to recreate the work "Ceci n'est pas un pipe" by the Belgian artist René Magritte.

the fabric is wrapped around a mount board and I also used some wadding to give the piece some depth.

It fits neatly in the tin in which it is presented. 

I hope to have added to the joke the artist intended. 

presented in the box:

the box:

An old piece of clothing gets reused :

Time for tea cross stitch

I might have mentioned it before : cross stitching is not my favourite craft. But now and again I find myself doing a small piece. Because it is, I think, a bit like a jigsaw puzzle : you concentrate on it but don't really have to think about it or anything else for that matter. And sometimes, that is just what I like. Especially when the piece is small, so I get a quick result.
This one I made while away on holiday. I put it in a frame together with a photo of one of my favourite people. To remind us to take time, for tea for example.

Cross stitching a Snowman

Some cross stich designs I really like. But of all the crafts I tried, cross stitching isn't my favourite : it tends to make me rather impatient and jumpy. I don't know why, it simply doesn't suit me very well. This is a small piece I once made and it seemed to take forever. I like it though, after all it is Raymond Briggs' Snowman but was I glad when it was finished!