I’ve never been into sewing and I remember fighting with my elementary school in the 70’s to allow me to do shop instead of Home Ec (home ick). The last thing I wanted to be was a homemaker. I did win that battle and I still have the project I made in that shop class. So it comes as quite a surprise at how completely I am drawn to and inspired by stitching. Last weekend I took a workshop with Jody Alexander (love her work) called Boro (Japanese word meaning jagged, mended and patched - Boro textiles were usually sewn from nineteenth and early twentieth century rags and patches of indigo dyed cotton) I like the simplicity of the stitching, the limited color palette and the idea of mending, patching, bringing back to life. The process and look of sewing/stitching is making its way into my work. The meditative qualities of sewing are similar to what I experience when I’m painting and drawing.
Samples from Boro workshop and a recent watercolor on the right