"SHPSBDTFTJUME"

(the full title can be seen on an earlier post).
I was inspired by the James Ensor exhibit at MOMA. I placed myself in the midst of demons as metaphors of psychological distress which can possibly result in physical ailments. Perhaps the act of creating and posting this work will act as an exorcism and cure/free me.
Aesthetically, the rule was not to have a stitch/stroke adjacent to another of the same color, to avoid solid areas of color. I suppose that could also be some kind of metaphor.
When placed horizontally, this piece puffs out with bumps and texture, like a miniature mountain. The red "evil" eye is, strangely, at the very highest point. That was not intentional.....

Bird

The first in a planned series of black and white, smaller and 'simpler' embroideries.
Unfortunately the series didn't last long. This is the only one (so far I suppose).

Anyway, this is the bird. The dark bird. The bird that resides somewhere within the barren, leafless trees in the winter. The bird that you think you see from a distance at dusk, as you are hurrying to get home before dark. The bird that lands on your bedroom windowsill in the dead of night while you sleep and punctures your chest with its long, sharp beak....
(hey, its not my fault, these things just come into my head!)....

Diablo

(getting tired of using the word 'demon'). This looks like a sad one. Confined to the lonely world of the abyss. Lost....
The 'face' and outer edge is all metallic thread. I used stitches of regular black thread to create a shading effect, like the technique of crosshatching with pen and ink.
I am very inspired by the art of Mexican metal tooling and tried to make this piece resemble the shiny metal, textural surfaces of that art form. Of course, you can't really see the raised textured surface in the photo.

Mr. X Stitch

Embroidery posted on Mr. X Stitch blog.
Thank you Mr. X Stitch!

http://www.mrxstitch.com/2009/10/23/stitchgasm-flying-haystacks/

Work in progress

I started this in August after seeing the James Ensor exhibit at MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art, New York City). It's tentatively entitled "Self, half-possessed, surrounded by demons. The f*cking tic junked up my eye". I think I want to stitch those words, somewhat obscured, into the piece but I'm not sure its going to happen.
I was on the way to finishing but the demons keep on manifesting and I'm happily obliging.

Arteries, veins, unbroken meadows

This is another in my continuing theme of demon/human forms. The doorway is taken from so many Medieval paintings, as is the gold metallic thread which is to resemble gold leaf.
I did much of this piece while at Prospect Park, Brooklyn. In the spring and summer I spend many a weekend afternoon there with my 'portable sewing studio' i.e. a bag. Anyhow, there is a long stretch of open grass in the park called 'Long Meadow'. It's supposedly one of the longest stretches of unbroken meadow in any U.S. park.
As I stitched my way through the arteries and veins in this figure it came to my mind that I was "contemplating the circulatory system on Long Meadow". It occurred to me that that would be a good sentence to use if I was ever talking about this piece. That was over a year ago, way before I started this blog. Well, finally, I'm 'talking' about this piece but I just can't use that sentence seriously in good conscious. It's just too darn hokey. I'm already concerned enough about how much of my written explanations are just pretentious, masturbatory dribble, I don't need to knowingly make it worse.
This is the last of the excisions from the large hoop.

Embroidery featured on Blog

My embroidery has been featured on Handmade Unique Blog.
Thank you very much Handmade Unique!

http://handmadeunique.blogspot.com/2009/08/unique-embroidery-by-flyinghaystacks.html

Astronomy, Art and Insignificance

"Three Celestial Studies:
1 - Spiral Galaxy
2 - Comet and Ion Tail
3 - Diffuse Nebulae"

The heavenly bodies were formed with one of my favorite flavours of painters floss. The purple 'space' around each of them was made using three different purple colors from three different spools, all mixed together. I often mix colors but in this case I especially remembered the futility of using three very similar purple colors since I knew they would blend and look as one. The difference is too small to notice. Its pretty insignificant. Its insignificant just like we are compared to all the heavenly bodies in the universe and beyond.

First time using embroidered text.

Animal Head

This was started in the Summer of 2008, inspired by the myriad of fauna in the Cabinet of Natural Curiosities tome that I had recently purchased. It was supposed to be some kind of animal head.
It lay dormant for a year on the big hoop, then I recently revisited it and tried to continue the animal thing but something went wrong. Maybe I lost my initial inspiration, or it was replaced. Now its more of an Animal-God-Spirit head of some sort. The large, oval shaped 'eye' is built up of metallic thread and 'pops out' about a half-centimeter from the surface.
Influences: Asian art, Indian Religious art.

Eyes

Some of the people who sell incense on the sidewalks of New York City also have religious paraphernalia. I recall seeing an image like this once, or close to it. All I remember were many eyes upon 'its' head and body.
Not sure if this is a God, or Demigod, it could be some kind of deity perhaps.
The 'meaning' that immediately comes to my mind to all those eyes is that of the 'all seeing, all knowing God', a God of wisdom. But I'm sure that the image of my memory probably had much deeper and more specific intents for the symbolic eyes.
As for this image, it's just my re-incarnation of another incarnation that I saw, or thought I did, or wanted to see, with my own two eyes, or out of the corner of my eye, or in my minds eye.