Stitchamaze is enjoying many new visitors as well as our loyal following of regular visitors. Many thanks for sharing stitchamaze.com with your friends. You are helping to spread the word that Needlepoint is an Art form.
This, in fact, is a topic of discussion in this newsletter. Please read the articles. They are all interesting, informative and pertinent to our Art. Your comments are encouraged and welcome.
Art Embroidery by Anna Marie Salehar
Why doesn’t embroidery rival painting in fashionable art circles? Is needlework an art or craft? When does craft become art? Friends and I ping pong these questions via email. Recently, an exhibit of modern Chinese fine art at a local museum brought answers—at least for me. Hanging alongside tongue-in cheek acrylic paintings, huge embroideries by Chang Xugong vied for attention and got it. The non-embroidering public had no idea which techniques (machine embroidery and hand worked long short stitch) they were looking at. And they cared less. Visitors simply liked the bold colors and the ironic message expressed by brash, life-sized men with US Dollars in background.
In my mind -- and gallery owners agree --Chang’s pieces command notice and deserve their high price ($10-20,000). These works resonate with the times. They comment on the socio-economic changes in post-Mao China and its linkage to the West. The pieces are interesting per se. Chang is an artist, who uses embroidery as a medium. He is not obsessive about stitching. The hand-stitching, found in the jacket and numerals, is done quickly and less carefully than in classical Chinese embroidery. The combination of machine -- possibly computer controlled -- and hand work is brilliant. The amalgamation appeals to modernity while tipping its hat to classic Chinese embroidery. Speed and mechanization enable Chang to produce embroideries to order that mimic contemporary paintings both in size and boldness. Big, declamatory, and wacky is what the recently affluent of each economic-boom seem to like.
The pieces on www.artembroidery.net are in stark contrast to Chang. Korean embroiderers toil painstakingly upwards of 2000 hours to produce copies of classical 19th century European paintings. Indisputably, their stitching is exquisite. Finer than Chang’s. One gets the feeling that the model paintings were chosen because of the technical challenge they present. Can an embroiderer render light, water or faces with the same fidelity as an oil painter? The results are technically and visually stunning. Would that I could produce pieces of such quality. But are these embroideries art? Does taking a famous piece created in one medium and rendering it fabulously in thread make the embroidery art too? I am not sure. Maybe the definition of art parallels that of beauty. It’s relative and subjective. If it looks like art to you, it is art.
Art, I think, comes down to emotion. What emotion does a work evoke in the viewer? Admiration for the technique is not enough. For me it comes down to “I could live with that.” Rembrandt, like the Korean embroiderers, has a better technique than Van Gogh, who like Chang, was a great experimenter with new paints. Given the choice, I would take Van Gogh over Rembrandt for his colors and his energy.
So where does that leave those of us who use patterns or the work of others as inspiration? Well, we are in the same boat as many painters. Manet’s work kicked off ideas in Picasso’s head that found their way onto his “original” canvases. And Van Gogh faithfully reproduced in oil the wood cuts of Hokusai. Today, these copies, highly prized, are in art museums. There lies the point for us embroiderers. Tastes change. Art is vogue. Van Gogh never sold a canvas in his life. As long as we keep enjoying our own stitched works, we are creating art. Good needlework may elude the attention of trendy art galleries, but hey, there are many walls in the world to fill.
To ping pong about this email: amsalehar@yahoo.com
By Robert Genn
Reprinted with permission from Robert Genn's twice weekly letter.
Recently, Mark Winkelstein wrote, "A friend passed away and I have been trying to assist his family in the best means of selling some of his originals. He is the fairly significant Hungarian-Canadian painter Gyula (Julius) Marosán (1915-2003). Any suggestions would be appreciated."
Thanks, Mark. This is a problem a lot of families are faced with and not everyone is aware of the options and pitfalls. There are two main objectives inheritors often have for their departed--further fame and further fortune. Maximizing cash flow may mean building posthumous fame. If a deceased artist has worked with commercial galleries or has had a substantial lifetime collectorship, these vested interests can be an aid.
In the case of Mr. Marosán, several galleries already are keeping his spirit alive. Seeking advice from galleries is the place to start. It's common for dealers to make offers--often lowball--on "the works" or to cherry-pick and pay cash for a selection. This is actually not a bad way to go as the dealer will be motivated to control and build the prices of a finite supply. Here are a few things to think about:
Put aside personal and particular works that need to be kept in the family. With dealer consultation, eliminate substandard works and destroy them. If family members wish to be participants in potential profits, they will have to work out a legal agreement with the dealer. This can be expensive and destroy a dealer's incentive.
Consider setting up a memorial website to honour and display the better works. Consider gifting a few choice pieces to museums. (In the Marosán situation, consider museums in both Hungary and Canada.) If no private dealer or public gallery connections can be made, consider slowly letting the works out through commercial auctions. Stop doing this if hammer prices become embarrassingly low. While commissions can be higher than in auction houses, also give consideration to leaving paintings on consignment with selected galleries. A thoughtful gesture is to make certain works available to charity fundraisers. No profit there, but you'll make a genuine, life-affirming gesture that might have pleased the deceased.
Best Regards,
Robert
by Elizabeth Bozievich, Editor, Needlepoint Now Magazine
As a fellow needlepoint enthusiast I am writing to you. Rosalyn Cherry-
Soleil and I have been brainstorming for a solution to an issue that
has come to our attention and we would like to enlist your help.
We have all experienced the loss of a friend or family member who was a needle artist. Many times the family is left with there loved one’s needlework and, sad to say, they don’t know what to do with it.
Heirloom quality pieces are ending up in yard sales, Goodwill stores and even landfills. Not having any children of my own, I often wonder what will happen to my art when I am gone. We aren’t talking about our stash of threads and unfinished pieces. We are talking about our finished art.
EGA has a collection of work that they display at their headquarters building but ANG nor other Needlepoint Organizations have a forum to offer guild members and the public to view these works of art, but shouldn’t they? Rosalyn and I are interested in putting together a consortium of needlepoint experts to work to preserve fine examples of needlepoint to exhibited hopefully in a permanent home at an established museum.
Why are we contacting you? We need help with figuring out the logistics, brainstorming and organizing such a project. We need help finding the answers to many of our questions such as can this even be done? Should we start a movement to open a needlepoint museum or start a foundation that takes in needlepoint pieces and then works with an existing museum to display them? What is the best way to start an archive of needlework?
Having said that our Needlepoint is Art, why not sell some of our Art?
Are your walls covered with your art and you’ve run out of space to hang one more piece?
Are your old works stored in a basement, box or attic?
Are you afraid to buy one more canvas or take one more class?
Is your motivation running on empty?
Stitchamaze has a solution.
A new feature titled ‘Off The Wall’ will help you to sell your Needlepoint Art.
There is a market for Art Quilts. Why not Needlepoint Art?
To create your selling price, simply imagine your piece on display in a Gallery. What would the price tag be? That’s your selling price. It’s simple. Aim high. Your work is worth it!
Maureen W. Clifton, Guest Gallery member is offering works for sale. Please visit here.
Stitchers often collect the works of other needle artists. We clearly understand the time and creativity that goes into this art form. This is a wonderful way to find that very special gift, something that’s different from your own style. A new piece can also serve as a source of inspiration for your own work.
Maureen is the first person to come forward to offer her work for selling. Let’s show her our support by visiting her Guest Gallery pages. (Please see below)
Will you be the next to offer your art for sale?
Exclusively Hand Created ~by Maureen
Taking Mixed-Media, Dimensional Needlework, Beading & Artistic Design
~Where no One has Gone Before~ As One-of-a-Kind Designs!
Native American Rose Cross (Side 1)
Their Way of Life & Spirit (Side 2)
Designed & Created by Maureen W. Clifton, Intuitive Artist
Cost: $749.00
This item is double-sided with 12 inch Hoop and 21 inches long – overall and highly dimensional. The Native American Rose Cross side shows Baskets, Maize (corn) and a Desert Rose, along with other items within its design. The reverse side, Their Way of Life & Spirit, includes a Village on a Cliff with a River below. On the mesa or plateau is a Maize Field, a Teepee, a Medicine Wheel, a Drum with Hammer, a Hide in its Tanning process & more. Crystals, Gemstones, Ceramic Beads, Peacock Tail Support Feathers along with other Native American charms grace this piece throughout. It is an extremely detailed and complex needlepoint design on 10 stitches-to-the-inch mesh with a carved stone Bird, Javelina and White Buffalo. The design includes Rocks, Sea Shells & other charms sewn into its design. The main piece is a double-sided box with .5 inch thick sides with a Native American design detail similar to the embroidery seen on clothing and represents a Squash Blossom necklace. The bottom piece is a Spirit Stick that the artist modified. One of the items on sides of hoop with feathers is an Ancient Pottery Artifact that the artist’s Father found in the Arizona Desert near Queen Creek, Arizona at her Grandfather’s Mining Claim in the 1940s! Hundreds of hours went into the creation of this extremely high end needlepoint art. It would make a great conversation art piece on any wall!
This item comes with a complete narrative. © All Rights Reserved. This one-of-a-kind Art was solely Created & Designed by Maureen W. Clifton, P. O. Box 1155, Westerville, Ohio 43086.
Please see Maureen’s other Art at: www.yessy.com/Maureen1947
Needlepoint artist, designer and teacher, Marnie Ritter has joined our Guest Gallery. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Marnie and seeing her beautiful Needlepoint Art at Callaway School of Needle Art. I’m so pleased that Marnie is sharing her talent with us!
Click here to see Marnie’s guest page.
The DVD of my home needlepoint Art Exhibit is now ready for your viewing.
The idea for creating this DVD arose out of my work with Landmark Education. Please checkout www.landmarkeducation.com to learn more about the Curriculum for Living and creating whatever you want to have in your life.
Working on the DVD was a great experience and thanks to so many of our Needlepoint community for their ideas about the production.
The DVD titled ‘Needlepoint. Alive and on the Edge’ is a free download. I hope that you will enjoy it and forward it to others who would enjoy seeing it as well.
If you would like to forward this video a friend, please click here
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My dear friend and mentor, Edith Chapman has passed on.
Edith’s Needlepoint will remain in the Guest Gallery in her memory.
Please visit to see the beautiful work of this fine Needlepoint Artist.
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The Guest Gallery is privileged to exhibit the Art of Jorge Rodriguez and Pilargomez Arce. Pilar recently wrote to me introducing herself and her art. I enjoyed the work so much that I invited her to join the Gallery and share these unique pieces with all of us.
Jorge designs and Pilar stitches. What a team!
Many of these pieces are for sale. Please contact them via email at pilar.gomez.2006@hotmail.com if you are interested.View thier guest gallery pages by clicking here.
Written by Lorene Salt
It is time once again for another Top 10 list. Time sure flies when you are stitching!
Here are 10 things that I found of interest for this issue
1. For those interested in going to the Callaway Garden stitching retreat in Georgia the program information can be found at
www.callawaygardens.com/callaway/info/things.needlearts.coursedescriptions.aspx
2. While at the EAC Seminar in Kingston, Ontario, I came across a lovely needlepoint shop in Brighton. They do mail order. Their website is
www.knowledgeandneedles.com/index.html
3. I have found another lovely shop in Quebec City. They also do mail order. Patricia’s website is
www.latelierdepenelope.com Click on the English Rose for the English site.
4. There are some new correspondence courses available at the Embroiderers’ Association of Canada. Check them out at
www.eac.ca/ncc.html
5. Julia Key H. Snyder has a new book out
“Categories for Needlepoint Stitches”. This is her third book. The first two are
“176 Amazing stitches to Unlock Creativity” and
“Backgrounds & Such”. These can be found at
www.homesteadneedlearts.com/whats_new.cfm
6. There are now 5 new Silk ‘N Colors by the Thread Gatherer and a new thread pack called “Those who wander, wonder” available. The new colours have interesting names like Violin Serenade, Rose of Charland, Wandering Tambourine, Needle Ny-dle Noo and Cormorant Gage.
www.threadgatherer.com
7. There is a neat new site at
www.stitchersvillage.com. This site is a global needle arts community. It is quite interesting and there is lots of information available. Well worth a visit.
8. Fireside Stitchery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania has a Mindy’s Needlepoint Factory Trunk Show on at present. Visit
www.firesidestitchery.com/fs/index.cfm
They do mail order and give great customer service.
9. Pocket Full of Stitches in Lubbock, Texas has a wonderful shop and a beautiful website. You can spend hours on the site! Check it out at
www.pfos.com. They also do mail order.
10. Laura J. Perin is a wonderful counted canvaswork designer. She has a lovely site and has some really nice new designs for 2009. Check out her site at
http://laurajperindesigns.tripod.com/index.htm
Well these are my “ramblings” for this issue. If you come across a find or have any questions, please contact me at lorene.salt@sympatico.ca. Till next time . . . Happy Stitching!
Happy Creating!
Rosalyn Cherry-Soleil