Blue and Gold

I am so thrilled that this new little creation will be in the Material Voices show at the Ayer Lofts in Lowell, MA in August.

Blue and Gold, 10.5 x 16"

I actually created this piece in hopes of entering an all media show with a landscape theme at a local gallery. But then the Materials Voices show came up and I entered there instead. But, I am so happy I had the push to explore landscapes.

When I think about landscapes, I always always always think of the beautiful wide open spaces and stunning vistas across the great state of Kansas. Particularly golden wheat waving in the breeze.

Taking that as inspiration, I put together several bits of fabric thinking carefully about how the colors of the wheat and the sky change and what I might see on the horizon and in the foreground.

I added lots of machine stitching leaving the ends of the "wheat" stitching loose and fraying. A bit of paint suggests clouds.

I finished with several hand stitched motifs. I really wanted to mix in some graphic contemporary lines and shapes with the hand embroidery --- taking the piece away from being too literal as a representation of a wheat field.

I can totally imagine using this same process for other landscapes... shore line, desert, even cityscape.

The title is a bit of an inside joke --- we're living here near Annapolis, Maryland where my husband loves to wear "blue and gold" the colors of the Naval Academy. I created this piece while remembering living in a place where "blue and gold' told a different kind of story.