Cayce Zavaglia

Poking around some archived online discussions about embroidered portraits from a few years back turned up a link to Cacye Zavaglia's jaw-dropping work. Painterly applications of thread or photo-realistic reproductions don't usually inspire me as much as they impress, but her work is not to be believed. The work seems to date back to 2003-2004, but I've been unable to turn up any information about this artist other than a link to images via the Lyons Wier / Ortt gallery in NYC.

Link

Annie Aube

Annie Aube is an artist based in Alaska who first contacted me several years ago with her work. I checked out her site again recently and her portfolio has grown. The work is extremely primitive and deals with violence in mythyology and religion. From her site:

(My embroidery is based) on the role of women...in Mythology and Folklore. I was inspired by my interest in religion and how it materially manifests itself in culture. The reason that I chose embroidery as the vehicle for this theme is because embroidery has historically been a way of controlling women. I also like the idea of Embroidery which is anti-pretty because embroidery has been associated with images of pretty flowers for so long. I like the irony of Embroidery which is gruesome. This is one of the major reasons why I have chosen to embroidery (sic) as a medium, and chosen the scenes I have. Most of the stories which I have chosen to embroider are obscure; I have for the most part stayed away from well known folktales.

Link

Lamono, a slick little art digest from Barcelona, Spain appeared in my mailbox yesterday. My work is featured in this issue. You can download the entire issue as pdf from their site, or download the interview (it's in Spanish) as a pdf here:

Link

Michael Aaron McAllister

Check out these miniature quilts with densely hand-stitched portaits on them. The amount of work is completely mind-blowing.

Link (thanks Julie!)

Stitching + Pencil + Photoshop

This is a partially worked embroidery with photoshop manipulation and a pencil sketch. I was working on a final template to embroider and I like this stage of it. You can click the image for a closer view.

Takashi Iwasaki

Takashi Iwasaki's embroidery is worked almost exclusively in smooth, flat satin stitches, looking very much like thread versions of his paintings. I love the shapes and colors.

Link

Open Source Embroidery

Ele Carpenter's ambitious Open Source Embroidery Project is something I bookmarked a few years ago and recently re-discovered it by stumbling on their Flickr photo group. From her site:

The Open Source Embroidery project brings together programming for embroidery and computing. It's based on the common characteristics of needlework crafts and open source computer programming: gendered obsessive attention to detail; shared social process of development; and a transparency of process and product.

An interesting as a project intended to inspire discussion, particularly as it also applies to the DIY movement where debates about copyright and how it applies to shared designs are continuously examined and challenged.

Link

Mahan Gallery - Columbus, OH

I have one piece on display at this show which opens tonight. Be sure to visit the Exhibitions page for full information or visit Mahan Gallery.