Beads, Pots, and Classic Design - a Preview

I have dealt with deadlines of one type or another for a lot of years, and usually handle them well - but this one (Needlepoint Now) kind of crept up on me, as I didn't realize how close we are to January. Time flies! Anyway, I thought I would show a preview of what has kept my needle so busy for the last six weeks or so trying to get canvases stitched and ready. I took on a bit too much stitching for this one.

I have shown this one before, but only barely in progress. The canvas is by E.T.A., produced and distributed by Sundance Designs. The Zuni Rainbird has been a fascinating study for me, and I can now recognize it's charming graphic design on the Pueblo pots in the ancient conventionalized form without a recognizable bird head. I chose to use beads, as no textured stitches would be right for it, but it needed a bit of "zing" - and I do love beads. They are also from Sundance, and are not the sparkly kind, but rather have a surface that softly gleams and enhances the design. There are beads the same color as the red/brown paint on the canvas for this design, but there wasn't enough contrast - so I used the lighter ones.

Also, on Anne Stradal's Mimbres ornaments I used the beads to enhance but not suffocate. I have already shown one of them finished in an earlier post - (see Pueblo pottery on the side bar). On this one, I only beaded the black parts of the design, as to bead the white would have been "overkill" and would ruin the effect.
The few beads sprinkled on the background are my favorite color #250, which is crystal clear - and applied with the same floss that I used on the background. It just gives a bit of enhancement to an otherwise plain field, but without distraction. These designs are timeless and elegant, and will never go out of fashion as the trendy ones do. Anne herself stitched the Mimbres insects - and I like, again, the simplicity of the stitching and fibers.





I sent the picture of Jan Fitpatrick's (Thread Medley - see it here) Moroccan rug, which is now finished - but as I have shown it before almost done, I'm presenting here a new coaster she has stitched, adapted from a tile from Marrakesh.




Also used for this "the artist's research and adaptation" article are Gail Hendrix's two Japanese Geishas ornaments, which were inspired by the lovely simplicity of the 17th century woodblock prints. I have shown the "Nippon Texures" just a few days ago - so here is the companion to it. As Gail says, they are timeless and elegant in color, pattern, and simplicity!
So much black, brown, and white, as much as I love it, has driven me back to the colorful again, and I have been busy stitch designing more bargello eggs in spring colors, which should be ready for show and tell soon.

Be sure to go "visit" these ladies on their blogs and see more - I have them listed on my side bar. Lots of pretty stuff!!

Beads and The Rainbird

This has been moving slowly, as I have other projects going at the same time (don't we all?). Anyway, I had ordered several books for research into the Pueblo pottery when Anne Stradal sent me the Mimbres ornaments I had requested. I had absolutely no idea of the history of this pottery, or even of the diversity in the various pueblos of the southwest, but had loved the look of it since childhood when we used to spend part of summers in Santa Fe. (it was a village back then - complete with La Fonda and Indian Joe on the porch). My eyes have been opened! I now understand the little graphic motifs on Anne's, and also am able to identify "Rainbird" motifs on various pots I see - where there is no identifiable bird.

This one is a canvas I found on the Sundance Designs web page, (see that here) but since they are wholesale only, I called The Busy Needle, which is also in Tucson, to send it to me, along with some suitable beads (also from Sundance). These ladies are remarkable, incidentally, as I had the canvas and beads in hand in about two days.
I'm showing another canvas which is also a Rainbird by E.T.A., and produced and distributed by Sundance. The pot is one I found in a gallery of old ones, and I am delighted to say that I now recognize a "rainbird." I have leaned more toward the Acoma pots for my own design, but in adapting any work of art to needlepoint canvas, it certainly makes it come alive if one does a bit of study - and also learns which elements are the most important.

These Pueblo pottery designs are so classic and graphic, they would fit well into almost any decor - and certainly shouldn't be limited to "southwest." I find them quite elegant!! As for using beads on a pottery design, this one really couldn't take fancy fibers and decorative stitches, but needed a bit of zing - so of course I chose beads. They are not the sparkly kind, so don't really distract.

T.I.P.'s and Coming Attractions

The first of the Mimbres Pueblo pottery ornaments is finished - all complete with beads, (Anne Stradal's Design - see more here), so it is no longer a Thing In Progress, but a Project Accomplished. Only two more of these to finish, unless I can manage to beg her to drop everything and paint the little canvas with the insects for me.

The mermaid (Gail Hendrix) is next, and I think I'm seeing the end of this one soon - but have thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous colors! Since taking this picture, I have started stitching the arms and body - using Anchor floss, as I like the rather matte finish of the cotton as compared to the shine on the ribbon floss.

In this detail, you can see that I used (besides the honey/copper Ribbon Floss) on the tail, a bit of Accentuate for blending filament, along with Splendor silk, just on the darker shading on the tail fin. There is enough sparkle and shine on the rest of the figure, that making the entire tail sparkle too would destroy the effect.
The third "thing in progress" is the August Birthday crazy quilt heart that I had put aside - and now it's past time to start on January. (it's good to be busy.) I drew the arrows to point out the "seam" that isn't quite on the 45 degree angle - and also the dots I made on the patch with Hungarian Criss Cross, where beads will be placed.





The green diagonal mosaic was worked with the canvas turned, as it would not have been pretty going the other way, due to the angle not being exactly on the diagonal - but mainly because this stitch creates a strong direction, and looks much much better this way for this design.

The coming attractions include a series of beautiful little sea critters to swim with the Mermaid (Julia). The first of these on my work table, accumulating the necessary threads, is a pink blowfish, carrying quite a load of shimmering pearls. A delightful small project!



The next picture is a scan I made way before I had a computer and digital camera, so part of it is missing. This cross is 13" high on 18 mesh canvas, and will go to Houston when I'm finished with the painting. I'm awfully glad I won't be stitching it myself. It's enough work just to put it onto canvas, as everything on it is stitch counted and painted for symmetry of design. The inspiration for this cross came from a book I have owned and enjoyed for a number of years, "Faberge and the Russian Master Goldsmiths" - one of the best on this subject! The enamel cloisonne' and jeweled boxes, tea services, and other pieces are absolutely beautiful, and have furnished me over the last ten years or so with many many motifs and color combinations, mainly for crosses.


And now off to bed and the T.V.! Saturday night, and I have actually watched two movies I've never seen before. Remarkable - and I'll spend the time stitching. (No idle hands here!) Incidentally, I have no idea why there is a huge, long blank space under this entry - it has happened before. Oh well. Someday I will have this computer under my control. Maybe.

Design Source - Pueblo Pottery

Actually, the "design source" here is Anne Stradal of ABS Designs. (click here to see her online catalog). I have loved this pottery since I was a small child vacationing in Arizona and New Mexico with my parents - so begged her for several of her small ornaments to stitch. I thought beads would do justice to these simple, elegant geometrics - but couldn't find exactly the terra cotta color I thought I had to have. However, the one I used works well, I think, now that I have several patches done. (Sundance beads, as always) The black beads don't show up well in the pictures - but they look great! I didn't use hexagonal beads, as I didn't want "glitter" on pottery.


The white is solid, and without beads - Splendor #802. I will later go ahead and make 3 rows of stitching around it, as I have started on the second one. I was tired when I drew the extra stitches, and made a mess on the upper left side - but it won't show, as I have planned to have each one framed individually, using an ultra suede mat, and having the ornament slightly padded - which is why I added the extra rows.

There are clear beads on the reddish background, applied with Anchor floss in the same color as the silk - so the beads are not conspicuous, and don't interfere with the design. When you click to enlarge the picture, you will see that I marked the stitches for placement of beads to make it not confusing. (meaning I don't have to think as I stitch) I thought they needed to be there to relieve a rather plain area. The white is solid, again, as just background.

I chose a Soie Cristale (Caron) color that isn't as bright as it is painted, although the paint color is true to the actual pottery of this pueblo. I plan to use them close together on a wall, and wanted the terra cotta color and this one to blend well.

Now - off to bed to read my new books on "Acoma to Zuni" pottery - and also Zuni Rainbird designs. They have just arrived from Amazon, and I look forward to yet another fascinating learning experience about symbolism, slips, methods of construction and firing, etc., and differences in style among the various pueblos.

Design Inspiration (and more beads!)

Sources for design can be quite enlightening - beyond just enjoying the look of the Pueblo pottery since I was a child, researching it has been a joy. It's much more interesting when traveling and shopping to understand what we are seeing and how and why it was made, and in so many cases, the symbolism of the motifs in art objects. I begged and wheedled these simple and beautiful ornaments from Anne Stradal (ABS Designs) as she loves these things as much as I do. The designs from the Pueblo pottery are classic graphic and geometric things, that are pleasing to the eye, and would fit into many decors - not just what we think of as "southwestern."

I plan to use beads on these - the Sundance, as always, as the ones I found in the right colors are not sparkly or glittery, so will produce the right effect. The white backgrounds will be left white and beadless (or kind of "off white" in this case with Splendor #802) so that the designs will be accented. These three pieces are small - only 3" diameter on 18 mesh canvas, so I think I will use them framed in a long, vertical format as a "threesome." I have a few other things to do first, but hope to start them soon. My reward for meeting deadlines on time, maybe.

I also plan to do the Mermaid from Gail Hendrix at the same time, as I will need to move back and forth between the muted ornaments and the brightly colored mermaid - this works for me. Fortunately, both ladies stitch paint their designs, so it's a pleasure working on them. Now - back to my magazine deadline which is in about 3 days, but with about 3 weeks of stitching left to do - and also finishing up my December Crazy Heart. It's good to be busy.

The "Acoma Pot" finished!

A few days late - but it's finished! What do I call myself? The generator of big messes - out of chaos comes art ??? Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this, despite the days I spent wallowing in self pity because my back hurt and I couldn't work. Or play on the computer.
For this canvas, I didn't want the shape of the pot, but rather the pattern elements and the glorious colors of the mid 19th century piece - so the challenge was to try to arrange them in an attractive way without losing the "feeling" of the pottery. I will put it away and look at it again tomorrow or the next day, as I always find whatever needs fixing after not looking at it for a while. My main purpose, besides using the beautiful color palette for April, was to create a needlepoint canvas for use of beads - to illustrate that they needn't be just sparkly Christmas things. This design is far too busy to accomodate decorative, textured stitches, which would ruin it by being very distracting to the eye. However, it needs something to add a bit of interest, and the beads (without sparkle) are the perfect thing, I think. I have no idea when I will have time for this, but maybe it will motivate me to hurry and finish what I am committed to now (and show some good sense about overextending my energies and hurting my back again.) At the present time, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the books I ordered on Pueblo pottery - good study to begin!!!

TIF Challenge: Colors, Acoma Pottery, and Change!

An idea - this is how it begins: An image! (Needlepoint is slow to stitch, so I won't get this done, obviously, by tomorrow - but I can get the canvas painted.) When I first saw the colors for April, my immediate thought, was the Australian Aborigene art and the old Amerindian pottery - mainly the Pueblo pottery of New Mexico. I first saw this beautiful ceramic when I was about 7 years old, and visiting Santa Fe with my parents. At that time, of course, it was the color and form I liked, with no thought to how it was made or where the colors came from for the decoration - or the meaning of the decorative motfs. It wasn't until I enrolled in a pottery class at the local art museum several years ago (something I have always wanted to do, but had no time for in college) that I realized what a wonder these things are - they are totally coil built! Amazing how uniform the shapes are, and how smooth the surfaces. The study of the flora and fauna and other shapes and their symbolism is an area I want to get into, and have now ordered some books - so interests change! (Last year it was the exuberant and flamboyant Mexican Talavera-style ceramics) The illustration is an Acoma pot from the mid 19th century - from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. I browse there often just to look at these wonderful works of art. The Mimbres pottery too is a great source for design, as it is more conventionalized in pattern - so quite mathematical, which is what I enjoy. The next step in this process, happily, was to go to the LNS for threads and beads to use in the stitching. (I always love a valid excuse for spending money on these things). I had a bit of trouble with the golden/orange, so had to opt for the Splendor silk with some beads a bit more subdued, which will, I think, get the mottled effect of the color on the pot. The Sundance beads, fortunately, have many colors in the finish that isn't glittering or sparkling -so will just add some textural interest to the piece. The simplicity of this work would not be suitable for doing textured "fancy" stitches, but it does need something to jazz up the needlework a bit. I have already made a rough sketch of the motifs on the pot, and now just have to rearrange and clean it up a bit - and with artistic license, create a wonderful decorative accessory for my home! Tomorrow, which is the last day of April, I will show the painted canvas!