A few days ago I put the finishing touches on the third piece of the 25 piece collaboration. Defining Moments #3: My Folks is about my parents’ early years before my birth. They are both gone now so I was really paying homage to them.
This piece was a struggle to design, implement and stitch; a great metaphor for our challenged relationships. There will likely be other parental pieces in the series where once again I will get to dig through old skeletons and closets. For joy!
As with the two previous, I screen printed their personal stories to the background cloth. I also included photos of them in their youth, a sleeve from my father’s Army uniform and his medals, awards and honors, even a postcard he wrote to his grandmother from the war. Also included were headlines and fashion of the day.
This piece was difficult to stitch at many times, through as many as 5 layers in some places. Additionally I trimmed off about 10 inches at the bottom before stitching. Once completed I was happy with it and the finished size of 59″ x 59″.
To get the wind back in my sails I am taking a short break and designing two small pieces for my vineyards series. They are roughly 20″ x 20″ and pure joy to stitch! Stay tuned…
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