Deflect, 16x20" mixed media on paper
Pieced, 11x14" mixed media on paper
Stabilize, 11x14" mixed media on paper
These are what I've been trying to figure out for the last couple months. There's a learning curve for how to incorporate new things and it took quite a while to figure out how I wanted to proceed.
I picked up a book at the local used book emporium about embroidery in various cultures. The pictures are beautiful but the idea that clothing in some places was embroidered to protect the wearer really stuck with me. I've been sort of mulling over combining stitching with figure drawings for a while and I was ready to move on from the crafter drawings.
The best way I found to embroider onto the heavy watercolor paper was to pre-punch a hole from the front (so I could see where I wanted it) and then re-poke the hole from the back so it was big enough to put the needle through easier. I didn't really care for the look of the holes in the paper so that's why I came up with the idea of patching bits of fabric over the holes. On 300 lb. watercolor paper the holes were sort of overwhelming the stitching. My transfer paper works great on fabric so I thought that would make an interesting combination. I like that using bits of fabric also gives a patchwork feel to the drawing.
I worked on all three of these at once and I think I will do them one a time in the future...that's a lot of little holes to embroider and my fingers are hurting!
