Friday, April 26, 2013

Mama Told Me There'd Be Days Like This - Embroidery Inspiration

Here is a story all mothers will be able to relate to.  I took these photos two years ago of a mother raccoon and her babies who liked to sleep high up in my Ash tree - and it inspired another artwork.
It was a hot day of a hot summer and mom had 4 babies frolicking around her, lying on her back and roughhousing.  I know that raccoons have a bad reputation and are seen as a nuisance but you have to admit, they are cute.   And they are just trying to survive in an increasingly urban world. This poor mom had her hands full.


Hey mom!  Look at me!

C'mon mom.   We want to play!

Let's all jump on mom!

Just give me a minute alone.......
 I was doodling on paper and this is the result.  I had put it away for awhile but decided to work on it while recuperating from my catarract surgery.  I embroidered the scene in black on white cloth.   The leaves were painted with watercolour crayons and the background stitched in various greens.  
Motherhood
 I'm trying out several different ideas for finishing.  Perhaps a narrow binding or zigzag stitched along the edge and mounted on a painted canvas.  Here I am auditioning a green binding.   I don't want anything to overpower the delicate stitching  but I do want some definition (which I may get by painting the background canvas).

Motherhood has its good days and bad days......

This post is linked up with  Off the Wall Fridays     and Fiber Artist Journey  Take a look at what other fibre artists are up to this week.



3 comments:

  1. ohhh I love this! Will you share it on Off the Wall this week? I really want to try something like this sometime!

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  2. I enjoyed this post as you have a funny story to tell to accompany your lovely piece. I particularly like your doodling technique on the tree trunk. Very effective.
    best, nadia

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  3. I love the way you've transformed your photo, via a doodle, into such a beautiful piece of stitching :)

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