Sunday 2 November 2014

Why Do We Embroider Anyway?



This week an Australian mate posted a pointed question on a needlework forum:  ‘Why do we embroider, anyway?”  

This very question plagues me too, frequently in the middle of some stitching project that is going “terribly wrong” as I rip threads while hoping the silk beneath remains unscathed. 

The facile response is there are as many reasons to embroider as embroiderers. But I don’t do easy. So let me give the answer a go. It’s a different one than I might have given at another, more fraught stage of life, when I had less free time. 

I embroider because I must potter, preferably at something with a result.  I am a “do-er.” To my mind, the antipodes of “do-ers” are “be-ers.” These are individuals who can read quietly, contemplate, visit exhibitions, or just go shopping. There is nothing preferable to either type; they are just different.

Harold Knight Painting

Embroidery suits my temperament and living arrangements.  Abstract “do-ers” -- programmers, writers, composers -- produce intangibles.  Being a physical “do-er”, as I am, comes at the cost of manufacturing “stuff.  Beyond the price of materials, there is the amount of work space and mess that projects entail. In all three respects –materials, mess, and space--embroidery is a productive activity that does not have to be expensive.

Embroidery projects, like work, can expand to fill the time, physical space and budget available.  But actually, a piece of cloth, a needle, and a couple of hanks of floss are really all you need. The complete ranges of DMC or Anchor threads can set you back a bit, but I collect them slowly, project by project. And threads, unlike paints, will last years without spoiling or drying out. As for space, you don’t need much. Most embroidery paraphernalia fits in a box, if needs must. And there is no toxic, permanent mess to deal with. Have you ever seen a painter’s studio floor?  Of course, there can be untidiness with embroidery, too. But an impending visit from your mother-in-law and a vacuum cleaner clears that up in a jiffy. And let’s be modern and recall that hand-embroidery -- note the qualification -- is ecologically responsible. You just use body energy, not electric mains. Thus you exercise and lose weight while you work, or so I tell myself. 
The Embroiderer by Jean-Baptiste Chardin

Inevitably, physical “do-ers” must confront the issue of what to do with the product of their 
labour.  Completed projects can add clutter to lives (or kilos to our frames, in the case of baking, another “do-er” activity I practice). Sure, one can try hawking product. A neighbor, who makes jewelry, warned me years ago this awaits “do-ers”. This is not something I aspire to. Yes, I know about Etsy and Ebay. But blogging and social networking are quite enough technology to contend with at the moment, thank you very much!

Our town hospital offers its long halls as temporary galleries for local painters.  I marvel at the canvases on display.  They are big and many. Given their datings, the productivity of these artists is high, like their price tags. If pieces don’t sell – and few do-- where does an artist store them? In a house that is already filled with life’s acquisitions? In a lock up or shed?  My embroideries fit into a single drawer or a folder, if I don’t choose to the frame them. At some point someone will chuck them, even if I can’t bring myself to do that.

So I am brave and give some of my production away, hoping my embroideries will be appreciated.  Some are. But you can’t count on that anymore than you can count on meeting of the minds or confluence of tastes across generations. Many “gifts” vanish once handed over. It’s in one door out the other. Better to accept that. The only person sure to like my work is me.

So as an embroidering “do-er”, I strive not to have a huge production capacity. On purpose, I pick embroidery projects that take a long time. Portraits created in single strands of thread need upwards of six months to complete. That’s keeps me occupied and struggling with colors and light effects, satisfying my inquisitive nature.  I confess to getting sidetracked by short projects with a fancy stitch or a enticing color combination. Or I may digress to knitting for new arrivals. These projects are for evenings in front of the TV when I can multi-task. Portraits require my undivided attention.

So why do I concentrate on human portraits? Well, beyond being an activity that engages my brain and consumes my time, portraiture is about connection, primarily me to my subject.  Perhaps my portraits in thread will resonate withsome family member not yet born. I will never know. But it doesn’t matter. I just keep stitching because that’s what I, the “do-er”, do and will keep doing as long as my eyes and my fingers allow. So what’s your story?

8 comments:

  1. Very well said, Anna Maria! I have reached similar conclusions. Although I do find it more satisfying to create a large piece of work such as a quilt. In quilting there is a constant push to make quilts faster and faster. But as you say, it is not long before you are drowning in quilts! Many quilters I know churn them out and then give them to charity. Which is fine, but not what it's about for me.

    For me it's about creative self-expression, and putting my own twist on an established tradition. To move things forward just a little more. And all the tactile fun of fibres and thread is an extra bonus.

    Another great post! Thanks for the opportunity to discuss this. :D

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  2. Monica, thank you for chiming in. I'm glad this resonated with you enough fhat you took the time to tell me so. I value that!

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  3. Anna,
    Thank you for your thoughtful comments - I really enjoyed reading them.
    Embroidery for me is not about the pace - it is in a way a kind of meditation, a way to connect to yourself and celebrate each day. It is a very personal journey ... you bring up many great points - fully agree.
    I have marveled at your artistry for years - thank you for sharing your pictures and showing another aspect of all that is possible with needle and thread!
    Enjoyed this t

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    1. Hello Nupur,

      You are so right about the meditation aspect of embroidery. There is nothing like getting into the "flow" to make all right with the world. I have often heard people say "I don't have the patience to embroider." Actually, I think embroidery helps one to develop it.

      Like you I recently made a monogram for a wedding pillow...yep to give away... and it sure did take more time than I thought. Yours is lovely!

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  4. Borduren is voor mij: het rustig zoeken, het ontdekken van mogelijkheden en genieten.
    Het is mijn weg. Alles kan en alles mag. Ik laat me inspireren. Door de wereld om me heen.
    De natuur, de mensen, de culturen uit alle tijden. Het voelen van drijfveren van anderen.
    Jouw blog is voor mij heel inspirerend. Het raakt me en is heel herkenbaar.

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    1. Good morning, Hanneke...Exploring color and nature, pushing boundaries..yes, I can hold my hand up to that. Thanks for taking the time to say you enjoy the blog. Writing it is like putting a message into a bottle that you throw into the sea. I always wonder if somebody will find it and write. Thanks for letting me know you "found the message.."

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  5. Phew! Let's cheer - I have finally managed to get to this blog through Google +, and have also signed up to follow it on email. So much easier for me.

    I am surprised, Anna Maria, that you identify yourself as a "do-er" but allocate visiting exhibitions to "be-ers". That apart it is a most insightful piece and clearly delineating Jungian-style "intuitives" from "sensates". I would take minor issue with you in that as you have said embroidery is for many of us a form of meditation and thus fits the profile of "be-ers"; we are as we embroider totally immersed in the moment, in the being.

    But what I have written is just playing around the edges of the central question of "why do we embroider" and the answer to that your words ecapsulate well. It is a way of being active while our attention is also turned inward inasmuch as we are focussed on our creation not on something external.

    Where the work is our own, rather than following another's design, there is also the element that we are expressing ourselves and if the works are visible around our home then we are talking silently to visitors to tell them who we are. It could also be argued that even the choice of a published design expresses our personality so this is taking me further than I intended.

    I prefer the Harold Knight painting to the Chardin one. I can feel the back pain of the embroiderer in the Chardin painting as she leans forward.

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    1. Hi Cynthia, What a thoughtful dissection of my post. Thank you for taking the time and making me think.. I agree that embroidery can be both a doing and being activity. I guess it's a matter of what is more important to the stitcher at the time: the product/achievement or the activity/process. And as you rightly point out, the two are not mutually exclusive. As for attending an exhibition, I classified it as "being" activity because it's has no "product." in itself. I absorb other's ideas, I am taking in, which in turn might engender a product....like a blog. BTW, I prefer the Knightly too. I have also concluded that the most "perfect" do-er activity is gardening. You can play with color and form endlessly, the product self destructs annually never requiring storage, but flowers or veg that are useful/valued by everyone.

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