Abstract Punchneedle

In keeping with trying to warm up my little corner of the world this winter - I have begun a punchneedle picture that explores the fluidity of color and shading and I'm using lots of 'warm' color. 

The first step for a punchneedle project is to use my lightbox and trace over the design so that it appears in simple lines on a piece of paper.  As I draw the design I make notes to myself ('double line here' or 'blend colors' here).

Once the design is drawn on paper, I turn the paper over and retrace it.  Because the actual punching is done on the reverse side the pattern needs to be reversed when putting it onto the fabric.  After the pattern is reversed on the paper I lay it on the light box and position my Weaver's cloth over it.  I then trace once again -- this time onto the fabric.

After that the fun begins! This is the time to choose colors, to pick through floss and yarn and whatever might end up being put into the punchneedle form.  Because punchneedle can appear 'flat' if only one color is used at a time I always mix and match threads for any one section of a piece.  Sometimes I use three different shades of the same color family for background.

A picture like this will require a LOT of threading and rethreading because there will be so many variations of shades and changes of color.  In a small space like this picture, rethreading will be the most time consuming part of the process.  Threading the needle and then rethreading the needle and then rethreading once again to only cover an inch or less of space can become quite tedious.  Or it can be accepted as part of the process, which is the way I like to look at it.

As I punch, I write down the colors that have been used in each section.  The reason for this is that if I have to go back and fill in a space (which can easily happen with punchneedle) I will know exactly the combinaton of thread that I used in any one section.

The nice thing about punchneedle is that you can even make notes in the margin right on the fabric as you go -- that edge fabric will all be gone when the picture is finished.

So here you have a little 'lesson' in punchneedle.  Now that I have prepared the design and fabric I think that I'll get busy and start punching -- such an active word for such a quiet, peaceful process.

"I broider the world upon a loom

I broider with dreams my tapestry

Here in a little lonely room

I am master of earth and sea

And the planets come to me".

- Arthur Symons

Beginning Punchneedle

Finally, after a couple of months of delay, I have been able to devote some time to the craft of punchneedle.  I had dithered away a lot of time trying to use reverse punchneedle for doll faces.  After that didn't work I decided it was time to get started on an actual piece of punchneedle art.

My plan (if you can call it that) was to take an existing picture and copy it into punchneedle.  The picture had to have shading so that I could practice that technique and the technique of using varigated threads.  Also it had to be simple.  At this point in my punchneedle adventure 'complicated' was not a word that I needed to hear.

So off I went using this picture by Nicole Marley.  I promise you Nicole (if you're reading this) I will only use this picture one time, for my use as a 'practice' piece.  And I thank you for your lovely art which definitely fit my criteria.  I did eliminate the grasses because I was trying to keep this as simple as possible.

I learned so much while doing this project.  I learned how to blend the threads and colors, I learned how to fix mistakes (of which there were plenty) and how to go back and fill in, because I had a tendency to not space closely enough.  I learned to keep track of the thread I'm using so that if I have to go back I know what shade was used where.  I learned how to do blocks of color in a space and then go back and fill in around it - achieving a shading effect.  I learned not to judge a section by the first few rows. The colors in the actual piece are much deeper and more vibrant than my little camera could capture.

Punchneedle is very meditative and I very much enjoyed 'filling in the spaces' with thread and color.  The whole project went quite quickly once I got started.  But saving the very best for last was to turn the frame over as I went and to see those loops creating a picture before my very eyes.

"You don't know how much artists go through to make it look so easy. It's all in the practice". - Lauryn Hill

Creative Ramblings

Here is a variation on the 'necklace' theme -- whereby I attached the beaded piece to fabric and framed it all. This 'picture' is named "Twilight Path" because I used muted purple and green beads in several shapes and sizes. Unfortunately the colors don't show up here very well -- so you'll have to take my word for it.

Any new adventure takes a leap of faith. During the learning process it is often hard to branch out, to 'let myself go' because I'm all involved in the 'rules' and trying to master stitches. As I keep learning the basics of beading I begin to feel more secure with the craft and that allows me to try things that are not exactly as the books had shown.

There is a small book that I would love to recommend to you. It is called "Creative Authenticity" by Ian Roberts. It has nothing to do with beading, but everything to do with creating. I discovered this book several years ago and my copy is now much worn from the times I have read it. It stays by my bed and I'll often read just one chapter before going to sleep. I especially love the chapters "Searching for Beauty" and "Your Craft and Your Voice".

One of his thoughts goes like this: You would not expect to be able to play a violin if one were handed to you, unless you had previous experience. However, with perseverance and practice you could learn to play. The secret is practice, practice, practice. I think it is that way with our craft and art forms. No one would expect someone to be an expert seamstress just by sitting down at the sewing machine so why would we expect to master any other skill or art immediately. So, here I am giving myself the time to practice, practice, practice with those teeny, tiny beads and in so doing I am learning to love beading in all of its forms (many of which I still haven't begun to try).


"Own your own creativity. You are creative with the same juice that flows in all of life. The question is not whether you are creative enough but whether you will free yourself to express it." - Ian Roberts