Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Elements of Architecture XXXIII



In California I stitched every night and watched re-runs of Law and Order. I've learned many "geek" skills, like changing images on the Gallery 80808/Vista Studios website, all sorts of PhotoShop functions, and how to send a "newsletter" to lots of emails without all the addresses showing. Yet, I haven't figured out how to channel surf. I guess living in a house with males means I never the remote control.

Anyway, pictured here is Elements of Architecture XXXIII and the corresponding collage I made using the heat transfer painting. I finished the hand stitching on four pieces during my stay out West.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Susan! How big are these pieces? They are so wonderful!

Susan Lenz said...

Hi Wanda!
The average stitching area is about 8" x 10". Basically, I painted a picture (quick, wide strokes of color suggesting the building) with a special paint. This paint is "heat activated". This means that after it is dry, I can put the sheet of paper, face down, upon 100% polyester fabric and iron with very, very hot heat. A chemical reaction occurs between the dried pigment and the polyester. It transfers the design to the polyster. Since I use regular, cheap 8 1/2" x 11" paper, the size stayed fairly consistant....although I find myself shoving the needle between the cloth and the stretcher bars just to get in one more stitch. Once the hand stitching is complete...and, yes, some stitches are in wool and two inches long...I cover the embroidery with a sheer, nylon scarf and machine embroider into it. Click on one of the embroideries. The picture should enlarge so that you see both the hand and machine stitches clearly. About size, each is in a frame that measures 17 3/4" x 15 3/4"...I've written that measurement down in my catalog 35 times now, so I know it by heart! The collages are made using the painted, cheap paper that still had the design painted on it.