WIP: The Iconic Series

Since May has a bonus half week, I won't be posting this month's final recap until Wednesday. I decided to use this as an opportunity to share a more detailed look at my current WIP series, Iconic. 

Embroidering quotes isn't a new thing for me. I used a fair number of quotes during my 2021 project. I have always loved collecting quotes. I used to keep quote journals as a teenager. Embroidering letters can be tricky; I learned a lot about the ins and outs in 2021. The key is to use less thread and to find the natural connection points of letters for each stitch. Back stitch works best for me for lettering, but chain, split, and stem stitches work as well as French knots. Anyway, the idea for the Iconic series came about because of a quote from one of my friend's daughters. The quote was "Coffee makes my life sparkle." How amazing is that?!? My friend shared this on Facebook and I responded that I needed to embroider the quote on something, but I didn't include it in my 2021 or 2022 project. I wanted to do something else with it, so I let it sit for awhile and then I figured out what to do. And Iconic, at least as an idea, was born.

I keep a running list of other quotes I like. Some are from friends. Others are from social media, movies and tv shows, and articles and books. While most of the quotes are from famous people, I like the idea that anyone can say something that becomes iconic to the person listening. That's how I settled on the series title.

I was originally going to stitch them on fabric, but got the idea that they should be stitched on paper as a nod to my old quote journals. I decided to focus on 20 quotes for this first series. Each quote gets its own page and I'm using other techniques to add to the page. In addition to the DMC Diamant thread, I'm using various paints, Posca markers, colored pencils, glitter, crayons, and whatever else I can think of to make each page unique. 

The first ten pieces in the series are done. I have Iconic #11 queued up for this weekend and have started designing #12 and #13. I haven't done "Coffee makes my life sparkle" yet. I'm saving it for last. I have a design in mind, but want more time to make it really shine.

Here are the first 10 pieces in the series:

Iconic #1 (DMC D310)

Iconic #2 (wool, DMC D3821, D5200, gouache, clear gesso)

Iconic #3 (DMC D310, D225, D301, acrylic paint)

Iconic #4 (DMC D310, orange glitter, clear gesso)

Iconic #5 (DMC D301, D321, D3821, D415, Sulky thread 7050, 7022)

Iconic #6 (DMC D301, Penco crayon pen)

Iconic #7 (DMC D310, Prismacolor colored pencil in Crimson Red, Posca marker in Violet, Wildflower & Honey pigment paint in Pear, Blue Hawaiian, Coral Macaroon, and Orange Slice)

Iconic #8 (DMC D699, D225, Sulky 7012, Posca markers in violet, pink, green, light orange, light blue)

Iconic #9 (DMC D310, D301, Posca markers in green, light green, blue, and light blue)

Iconic #10 (DMC D310, Dylusions acrylic paint in bubblegum pink, vibrant turquoise, and sunshine)

I'll be working on Iconic #11 and Iconic #12 this weekend. My goal is to have all twenty pieces done by the end of June. I also have to construct and cover the book. I'm using the cardboard backs from the pads of mixed media paper for the binding. 

Here's a sneak peek at Iconic #11. It's the first one featuring a person I know personally. Julie's quote pairs well with my awkward glue dinosaur.

I saw someone use hot glue as a way to create a dimensional embroidery piece, so I decided to try it on paper. Not the best medium for this sine the paper eventually separates, but it's still a lot of fun. 

Now I have an awkward dinosaur and an outline!

Preview of Iconic #11

I also tried the hot glue technique on fabric. It works so much better! I can't find the video from Instagram that inspired me to try this out. Sorry about that, but thanks to the person who did it. Very cool technique.