I love your feedback, readers! Want to see more or something or have an idea to share? Let me know! One thing I hear often is "I like how you feature other crafty people or articles I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise." The crafting world is HUGE and even the definition of what is "crafty" is very open-ended. I frequently stumble upon people doing unique things or using their crafting super powers to make the world a bit brighter, a bit more beautiful and a bit more interesting online. I usually find these articles by chance and try to make a point of sharing them with you.
I love sewing (and my project bags in my Etsy shop are a way for me to relax, sew and take a break from knitting). I've done my fair share of cross stitch, but when it comes to embroidery, I'm not great at it. I so (sew) admire people who not only do it well, but put a unique spin on it. Check out the incredible work by Danielle Clough, a VJ who embroiders stunning work onto tennis rackets. Original article posted here.
Sew Far, Sew Good: I Embroider On Old Tennis Rackets
I always stumble over my words when I answer the typical “so what do you do?” question. I’m a designer by training. I’m passionate about film photography, and I work as a VJ (which means I do visuals for music shows, and not what you think. Yeah, I know…). But lastly, and the most loudly, I say “embroiderer.” I love that term. It’s like being a carpenter or a bricklayer, because there is a simplicity to it, to being a ‘maker’. This is why I create the work.
There is a rhythm to sewing that I find extremely calming, matched with an unadulterated celebration of color, and then at the end I’ve produce something aesthetically-pleasing, so there is great reward in that entire process.
The first threadsketch I created was through a series of opportunities and mistakes. I was working at a gallery at one stage, with idle hands, and at the time I had nothing on me except cotton, a needle and a scrap piece of felt in my bag. I believe I drew a rabbit. Ideally, I shoot all my references, and much like traditional embroidery, I map out the lines before I move on to thread. There are no rules to my process, purely because I don’t really know any of the rules, and those that I do, I try my best to ignore, and in so that way I cannot know what I’m doing wrong. It’s a self-imposed freedom that makes embroidery feel like play.
Motivation and inspiration are two very different forces in my work, and are not mutually exclusive. I’m often motivated by boredom. Apparently I suffer from ‘ADS’ – always doing something. Inspiration comes from finding new materials to use: strange color palettes, conversations with good company and so on. Inspiration keeps me stitching through the times that I lack motivation, and vice-versa.
More info: danielleclough.com
Tulips
Blue paper petals
Rose
What a racket
Other works: Molly
Steve Zissou
Chewy
Silent
Hand Naai
Nonku
Pineapple pendant
Skull pendant
