For centuries women have used cloth as a tool of comfort and as an expression of beauty within their homes. Creating cloth for warmth, cloth for shelter, our female predecessors embellished these linens with hand stitch using laborious and time consuming techniques thereby enhancing the functional beauty of objects which enveloped and protected their families. Inspired by these women I hope my creations pay tribute to and recognise the devotion expressed in cloth by our female ancestors .







''the use of traditional often time consuming process alludes to the devotion of a mother''. c K. A. Ruane 2007







Tuesday, September 27, 2011

show and tell.....


I am excited today and nervous at the same time...I have made a little video for you about the work pictured above. It is quite short, about five minutes, I didn't want to send you to sleep. Thoughtful that's me....I also didn't want to give too much away, a girl needs her secrets and those are being shared with my class at the moment and I can't upset my girls!
I do think though that even though it's short you will get a better 'feeling' for the work than you would from still images. I am hoping so anyway and I would love feedback on this because I have a hankering to do more....
When I think of all the completed pieces, unfinished pieces, sketchbooks, samples etc that I have I am thinking I probably have enough video material for fifty years of blogging so if it's a success there will be more.......
Fingers and toes crossed here......watch and enjoy.....

20 comments:

Elizabeth said...

What a great idea to make a video.

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Lovely, Karen! I enjoyed watching very much. Really brings the piece to life. Lucky Helen!

As feedback for the video idea, yes, I would say just the right length. More than 5 minutes and it seems like you need to set time aside to watch it.

Janice.x

Anonymous said...

I agree that five minutes is about right. It looks a lovely piece of work and I'm glad to know that Helen will be cherishing it.

deanna7trees said...

great video. love to see a video and hear the voice of the artist. the reason some of us don't buy every piece you have for sale has nothing to do with 'not wanting it'. I would love to have every one of your pieces but sometimes the budget does not allow for that.

Suztats said...

I enjoyed the vid and think 5 min is a good time as longer vids stop and start due to streaming difficulties with a satellite hook-up and I just get frustrated trying to watch them.
Love the cloth and wish I had a bigger budget.
As for the vid itself, I found it a bit difficult to see the stitching properly, and would love if there was better lighting, if possible. Otherwise, good show!

Tina said...

Lovely video and lovely cloth-silly people-who would not love to have a piece of your art! Lucky Helen!

Carol Q said...

beautiful piece of stitching Karen. nice to hear you and see a video. Lucky daughter.

barbara l. hale said...

I really enjoyed watching the video. Beautiful piece! Lucky daughter you have.

jude said...

nice to hear your voice.....

Ferg 'N' Jude said...

Lovely video, thank you for sharing. Hearing your voice somehow makes a more personal connection to your work.

Jeannie said...

Thank you Karen for the video and sharing the cloths tale. It is a beautiful cloth and Helen will be known from now on as Lucky Helen! I loved hearing your voice. Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

What a pleasure to hear your voice! :)

I like this work - the idea of embroidering text and then dismembering it is brilliant. :) Like the contrast between the patchwork and ruching ...and the continuity of the fine vine. Wonderful piece!

:) Linda

Gayle said...

I look forward to more videos! :-)

Doreen G said...

Great video Karen and nice to hear your voice and I look forward to more in the future.

Anonymous said...

Good to put a voice to the words. I agree, sometimes it's hard not to take non-sales personally - but someone always ends up with a beautiful gift in these cases.

Jackie said...

Really great idea. Its a success. Well done.

Mosaic Magpie said...

I loved the video. Such a lovely accent you have. I had to laugh when you were talking about things not selling and "wondering what is wrong with them?". It is so right, we put so much of our heart into our work, we do wonder why others cannot see the depth of it's beauty. Your daughter is lucky for in her case another's loss is her gain!
Deb

Dolores said...

Super! I came away with the idea that if you had made this video before (or as part of your Etsy entry), that this piece might have sold.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

It's great to hear your voice - loved the video. Hope it's the first of many more to come.

Heartwideopen said...

It was so nice to hear your voice!!!!!!! And what a lovely cloth to learn about. I saw this piece in a whole new light by seeing it and hearing you talk about it. Especially effective for your larger pieces. And it's lovely... as always!
HuGGs!
Debi