Sunday, October 12, 2008

"Radiant" framed and Katie's Heart of Glass (in progress)



I've spent most of this long weekend building soggy Kleenex towers, downing cold remedies and working on a commission for an embroidered cuff for Katie W. It's based on an older piece, "Heart of Glass" but the cabochon is so different from the earlier piece that I found myself doing my familiar old embroider-and-rip-out routine. I had to change the design quite a bit.

I'm still not sure this is right, but I'm beginning to feel hopeful. Because I always work free form with embroidery, I regularly hit points where I'm convinced that the piece is a thousand bead's worth of unmitigated crap. However, with a little picking out (Okay - a lot of picking out) and a little perseverance, I generally manage to finish with something that's respectable. Or so I hope.

Unfortunately, even with good lighting - I cannot get the vividness of the colors of the focal. Dichroic glass color shifts and my camera hates ambiguity of the blue/green/turquoise/purple kind. But this is close.

And (Goatman!) "Radiant" has her frame. Burled cherry and South American Purple heart. I was utterly thrilled when I saw this. I could never have imagined such a lovely piece of woodworking (even knowing how beautiful Ken's work is) - or wood that is naturally purple. Ken says the cherry will redden in time, too. All things considered, and snotty, snuffly cold aside, it's been a good week.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Radiant looks radiant in her new frame. I too am amazed at the different natural wood colors available. You should see some of the bowls my dad has made recently. The reddest of reds, amazing! :D

Deborah March said...

I was lucky enough to see Katie's cuff in progress, and am absoluelt positively GOB SMACKED. Your artistry is amazing. I am so fortunate to be learning from you Linda.