Week Thirty-Three: Layers

I have a lot of artist friends and follow a lot of artists on Instagram and I love hearing/seeing them talk about the various layers of their work. Some use underpainting, a technique that is exactly what it sounds like, but can be employed in different ways (outlining versus a layer of a solid color for example). Others use layers of color to create an effect or object. For a collage artist, layers might mean layers for paper or items being used to create the finished object. There's all sorts of ways artists create layers in their work. It's fun to hear the different processes and methods for creating them. 

I was thinking about that as I worked on the stitch journal and Spider Tree this week. Whenever I move the journal fabric, I'm starting on a pretty blank canvas. Since the journal isn't a specific thing, I use layering too. Each section has base layers of stitches and then I can start building on top of those layers or adjacent to them or whatever strikes my mood that day. The section I call Sky Neighborhood and the blanket stitch section are probably the best two examples so far, but the whole piece is one layer after another. I felt like I go to the point this week where I had enough base stitches to start the next layer on this side. Now I'm adding connecting stitches and overlapping stitches. My goal is to keep the fabric in its current position through October...I have no idea if it will work, but I think it will create another solid section like Sky Neighborhood or the build from the songs theme I did on the far left section of the fabric. Then I'll use November and December to round out the top and bottom sections of the fabric or add to sections I feel need a little something extra. That's the plan. Probably. Maybe. Probably.

This week's recap:

August 14: I haven't done a fly stitch in forever, so I thought I'd add one this week. It's a nice layering because fly stitches are good for embellishments later on. 

August 15: More back stitches. Kelly pointed out that one section looks like a little fox. I guess I like making unintentional animals.

August 16: I had this long piece of yellow thread that I was "saving" (I don't know for what) that I finally decided to use. It was the full 6 strands so I was able to separate it and really cover some area with long back stitches.

August 17: Doesn't this look like three rivers coming together? It also reminds me of looking out a plane window to see the landscape below. I used two colors for the chain stitch; I didn't have enough of the darker brown to finish the line. 

August 18: See what I mean about fly stitches being a good layering stitch? Adding French knots is one of my favorite ways to add to a fly stitch. 

August 19: More back stitch in orange, my favorite color. I went to see the Orioles last night so this was my homage to their team colors. 

August 20: a little red stem stitch. Part of the layering process is connecting the previous section to this one. I've started doing that as well. 

WIP: Spider Tree is coming along nicely. I didn't get as much work done on it this week as I had hoped, but I made progress. I love the technique I'm using for the web; it's going to be so much cooler than I anticipated. It's also a layering process: splitting the thread to create the web is so much fun. I never know how the thread is going to separate, even when I try to control it.

After four rounds of thread and a close up of one section.

After five rounds of thread.