Degree Show

Dear Everone!

You are cordially invited to attend our uni's end of year show - myself and my year group will be showcasing a selection of work from this (second) year of the degree and, well, the poster says it all really....

Meanwhile, alongside exploring my new town (the wonderful world of Brighton), I'm feeling so inspired to stitch.... I finally feel like I'm in the right place at the right time, not just in regards to my creative practice but my life itself. Which means I'm currently undertaking the biggest damn piece of Or Nue goldwork I've yet to attempt, so watch this space (and my upcoming show!) to find out more. I'll give you a clue - has anyone seen the movie Memphis Belle??



Goldwork DOTD skull tattoo

So, it's been a while....but I have been very busy: I've upped and moved to Brighton!
(More on this later. I am happy beyond belief and it's going to transform my whole life, not just my work...)

After many days' distraction running around estate agents and spending my savings on deposits, I have managed to get a little bit of stitching done, mainly in the near-completion of my Mexican day-of-the-dead goldwork tattoo:

As it's just a sample, I saved time by only doing half of the face (and I know there's still a few cms left to work) - but you get the gist. As for the waves around the side, I enjoyed playing around with the different tones of blue shading, but I think they would sit better on a nautical or a fish tattoo (this original design wasn't mine, it was simply a copied image to practice my or nue with, and it came intact with waves). After some research I think I should really have done a rose or something - any ideas??

As of the last few days, I'm in the process of setting up my own studio space (!) and it's going to be fabulous having my own dedicated work area to sit and sew in. Add to that a brand new delivery of goldwork threads in the post and a brand new work in progress, I can't wait to see what happens next. Viva la Brighton!

Sailor Girl

Another Goldwork Or Nue post. Finally, my pin-up-inspired Sailor Girl has been completed....many hours of work and a couple of headaches later, here she is!

Dimensions: 9.5cm x 8.5cm

She is worked entirely in silver passing thread, couched down horizontally with single-strand stranded embroidery cotton. As I found doing this piece, it's a bit of a pain that your vertical stitches have to be as long as the width of the silver, making it harder to do really tiny detailing such as the eyes. Mix into that the constant screaming at Anchor when my black thread kept snapping (for no apparent reason, all the others were up to quality standard) and I'm quite relieved to see the back of this one!

In a shameless effort at self-promotion, yes, she IS AVAILABLE FOR SALE - I'm having her professionally framed, and anyone potentially interested please feel free to email me. (The rent on my new bedsit, sorry, shoebox, needs paying somehow!)

Stay tuned for more Or Nue escapades because despite the tedium of the end of this one, there's another design underway....