The Joy of Stitch – Page 4 – One Stitch at Time

Music and Stitch

Music is a very important aspect in my life; I enjoy music in many forms and variations. No matter if it is recorded music (CD’s, online etc) or life music, concerts, gigs, making music with friends. I enjoy listing to music while I work with my hands , at home or when I am out to concerts or local music events. I am known for taking knitting/stitching along with me, where I go.

The initial idea to link music with my Stitching Project, came through a visit to the local St. Mary’s church. The atmosphere, up on the balcony by the window, was the first place where I filmed or rather was filmed while stitching. A Nigel Wicken, a friend of mine, is the organist of this church and we experimented with music and did some recording.

Stitching at the Church

In this situation the music was a beautiful piece by Arvo Paert “mirror in the mirror”.

A very beautiful, serene atmosphere was created. Something was missing. There was a distant between the setting by the window and the musician at the organ. A beginning, but not qiute the dialogue I was looking for.

The next collaboration happened with Bill Goodyear in his flat. Bill improvised on his guitar while being aware of my presence, I was listing to him, while stitching. In the film and photography the dialogue is not visible.

At Bill’s flat

We both enjoyed the experience and the next step was to go outside to Mousehole Beach.

Mousehole Beach

But the music was still not “visible”.

Only when I went out with Jamie and suddenly had the idea of us sitting together the quite dialogues became visible.

Jamie Mills and me in the Field

After this evening it became clear to me that I wanted to show the dialogue, the collaboration in my documentation.

Bill and I spent some time at Priest Cove, St. Just and sat together, playing and stitching, it felt just like a beginning. Bill said afterwards, he felt like weaving in and out from being ‘lost’ in his music and the awareness of my presence. In a subtle way he follow my movement.

Another meeting was with Ruth Bolton and her three daughters, Jessie, Iris and Amy. The youngest one preferred to be behind the camera: it was a wonderful experience how the flute (Jessie), the cello (Iris) and the violin (Ruth) wove together with my Stitching.

Ruth, Jessie and Iris Bolton

After this afternoon, I became to realize that I want to start a further exploration into a dialogue between Music and Stitch.

The next step would be to start a new piece of cloth and response to the music with the Stitches.

The Joy of Stitch

Conceptual Research

May 29, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

The Conceptual Research

My practice evolved out of my research for my dissertation ‘Stitch, Yarn and People’. I had of with researching artists who used Textile material and techniques in their work. Soon I discovered the aspect of Participation with the use of Textile techniques/materials.

Conversations with a Mark Leahy, a performance artist, brought me into contact with Richard Powell and the group ‘halfangel’ (www.halfangel.ie/knitting.ie/theknittingmap.html‎).

Also with Gareth Ballyn and his project ‘evenfeed’ (www.garethballyn.co.uk/2012/01/even-feed/‎)

Both were a defining part of my dissertation and I have been writing in my blog about them. Both were projects, though very different in scale and duration, which were the greatest influence for me.

These projects made me aware that the emphasis for me lies in the process of the activity, the slow process of embroidery/stitch, the embedded concerns regarding ecological responsibility and sustainability.

The first step was to choose an ongoing project for myself, stitching on pieces of Hemp with wool yarn, which is produced in Britain.Over time three pieces of stitch on cloth evolved.

Three Pieces Stitch on Hemp Cloth, 2013-05-28

I documented the process, the journey and reflection about it through video, photography and writing. In the process the following aspects of my work became relevant:

The Activity – embroidery/stitching as a durational process

The Participation – sharing the activity through projects and events

The Collaboration – creating dialogues with other artists, like musicians, as in this body of work.

Influential were also ideas from aesthetics and concerns, based in Zen philosophy and Japanese Craft design.

Wabi-Sabi

Excerpt from Wikipedia

Wabi-Sabi (侘寂 ^?) Represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centrered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”.^[1] It is a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印 sanbōin^?), specifically impermanence (無常 mujō^?), the other two being suffering (苦 ku^?) and emptiness or absence of self-nature (空 kū^?).

Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.

From the Blog: http://donnawatsonart.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/wabi-sabi-poetry.html

Japanuese Textiles — Mended coat by Junko Oki

Accept the inevitable… Life is fleeting and transient…. impermanent. That is why Zen teaches one to live in the moment… focus on the intrinsic small details… and get rid of the unnecessary.

That is why Zen and Wabi-Sabi are so tied to nature. Truth comes from observing nature.

Also the writing of Tim Ingold (LINES – A short History of Lines and Creative Entanglements) was informative.

Looking back, I realized that my greatest inspiration during the past academic year came from conversation with other artist, painters, textile artists and musicians about process, sensibilities towards mindfulness, holistic approaches, environmental responsibilities, slowness and appreciation of being in the moment.

From the Blog: http://donnawatsonart.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/wabi-sabi-poetry.html

Accept the inevitable… life is fleeting and transient…. Impermanent.

That is why Zen teaches one to live in the moment… focus on the intrinsic small details… And get rid of the unnecessary.

That is why Zen and Wabi-Sabi are so tied to nature. Truth comes from observing nature Also the writing of Tim Ingold (LINES – A short History of Lines and Creative Entanglements) was informative.

The Joy of Stitch

Thoughts about Embroidery and Stitch

May 29, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

Kathy Halper, an American Artist was featured in ’embroidery’ , the magazine of the Embroiderers Guild UK.

http://www.kathyhalper.com/blog

Kathy Halper 'Cellphones" — Kathy Halper ‘Cellphones”

Her recent work in an observation of youth culture and social networking. The article in the magazine and the essay on her website give a really good insight of her approach and the context of her work.

I found her thoughts about embroidery very interesting, this is an excerpt:

” There’s this whole issue of embroidery being slowly and handcrafted’. Halper describes and we are dealing here with images that are all quick.so there is a contrast between between that and the speed at which the work was created. […] emphasing the entire tension between transience and permanence, ententes publicity and labor-intensive creation.”

The works a thrilling because they offer the opportunity to love something without ‘liking’it, they are beautiful simply because they are tangible, they are here. The works in ‘Friend Me” offer something else entirely, endurance. (By the author of the article in the magazine)

The Joy of Stitch

Walking the Talk

May 29, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

Sometimes it is good to “walk the talk”!

After traveling from Penzance to Univesity Falmouth, dealing with Reprograhics, a tutorial with Gillian Wylde and lunch, it just flet the right thing to do, just to sit for an hour and stitch, while listing to some music! (The Bookshop Band, my current favorite!). When I look back at my documentation of my journey in Stitch, I realize, that it took me a bit of time to really take the Stitch piece on as my ‘companions! At the beginning I stitch only in ‘special moments’, at home and while filming. Only when I started the ‘Small One’ and the ‘Middle one’, I really started to carry them around with me, stitching on the train on every journey, they went to Germany, to London, to Totnes, several times to Truro.

Over the weekend I was thinking, that the Graduation show is really not the end of this work! The three pieces will have a break, I will continue working with them, when they come home! Before they go into the show next week Friday, I will take a final photo, which will be only a recording of that moment! This is a good feeling, a feeling of continuity!

Stitching in public is a really different ball game compared with other activities such as Knitting, or Crochet. It draws more attention to it, the is not a day or an outing without someone coming up to me, complimenting, commenting and inquiring, sometimes I tell people of the context, sometimes I keep it vague, saying I just enjoy doing it!

Here is another bit about “Walking the Talk” from last week:

Today I have locked myself out of my work, by leaving my laptop charger at the college last night!

So I decide to take some time out and went to the Poolside Cafe in Penzance and I here I am sitting right now and stitching! And breathing through the disappointment, the frustration and the upset. Better to accept the situation as it is and make the most of it.

Enjoying a coffee, watching the sea, breathing and stitching!

The Joy of Stitch

THE STITCH SAMPLERS

May 25, 2013May 25, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

I have send out more than 70 envelpopes with Stitch Kits and more than 50 have returned. Most days I find another envelope with a Stitch Sampler coming with the post!

These are excerpts from my documentation. It has been a very wonderful return!

It is still in the process to write down the comments, I will at least post some

Examples soon.

The Joy of Stitch

An Afternoon with Sue Dove

May 25, 2013May 25, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

Sue Dove at the “Coffee, Cake and Stitch” Event, May 2013

I meet Sue Dove in 2002, when I had started my A level course in Textiles and she was running a drop-in session at her studio in Hayle. I experienced Sue as a very intuitive teacher, who aimed at supporting student in their way of expression, never imposing her own way and approach. Sue’s own work defies to be easily categorized, for me it is to strong, colorful and individually: one can detect influences from the Fauves, Expressionism and Folk Art. Her work no matter which medium she uses , may it be stitched on canvas, sculpture in fabric and stitch, mixed media, paint or print, speaks of a great joy of Making. Looking again at the wide range of her work it brings home to me, that I admire her strength not to be pigeon-holed.“Sue Dove is an artist, teacher, curator; she paints, stitches and prints;She was head of HND Textile Fine Art of Cornwall College and runs ‘Art for Health’ and ‘Alternative Doll’ workshops. She graduated from Liverpool School of Art in 1974. After travels in Cornwall, Morocco and ten years living in Australia, she settled back in Cornwall in the mid nineties. Her book, ‘Painting with Stitches’ is available from Searchpress.com” (From: http://www.workshopontheweb.com/july2001/dove.pdf) Often over the years,when we met at various places and events, we often would have a laugh, because we would have some kind of “needlework” in our bags! Making is a way of life for Sue, once she told me about wrapping yarn around cord as part of her sculptures while waiting for the bus! We both are often asked, how we find the time for this “time consuming” activity, and the answer is we do, where and whenever we can. Sometime ago, I had told Sue about my project ” Time and Stitch” and also the follow up ” Coffee, Cake and Stitch”. Not only was she happy to contribute and take part in both projects, she also agreed to the meet me for an afternoon to talk about Stitch and Creativity. Even so our work is very different, we both share one particular aspect:

“The Joy of Stitch”

An Afternoon with Sue Dove

So today Sue joined me for Tea and Cake and a very good conversation. Typically for her, as soon as she sat down, she took one of her Stitched Pictures out and started, talking and stitching, so did I!

Work by Sue Dove — Work for the Unit 11 Show at Morvah Schoolhouse 2012

The Small One - work in progress — The Small One – work in progress

I asked Sue if she remembered when she started to stitch/embroider and why; Sue said, after her graduation, she specialized in Weaving, then she found it challenging and impractical to carry on when she started a family and needed a way of working, that was more portable and allowed to work in small but often moment and Stitch offered the perfect solution. It was fascinating for me because I developed Embroidery as a medium from similar experience, initially haveing a small child and needing matreial which fits into life. In the process I developed a deeper appreciation for work with yarn, needle and cloth. Sue and I have in common a deep to pick up something yarn related everyday, carrying it with us. Sue showed me the part of her current project, she had finished during a meeting of the St. Ives Society of Artists’s meeting. Sue’s work is related to Folk Art, Art Fauve, Expressionism and she translates her ideas fluidly into drawing, oil pastel work, Paintings and Embroideries: she said that she very happily sells her paintings and drawings but find it hard to let go of her embroideries as they carry so much of her life in them. I whole heartedly can empathize with this feeling! Sue also said that the process of stitching, the repetition of movement, the feel of the yarns and threads are a great pleasure. This deep joy comes out for us in our work and we feel we can communicate it with those people who can connect with our work. There is a tactile quality in the work which we cherish and want to share.

The Joy of Stitch

The Coffee, Cake and Stitch Event

May 24, 2013May 24, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

On Saturday, 11 May 2013 the Event ” Coffee, Cake and Stitch happened!

From 15.00 till 17.00 pm 14 people came to the cafe of the Exchange Gallery Cafe and joined me for some time of stitching and sharing stories.

People came and stayed, they got o know the other people and sat down and stitched! It required in the end three pieces of fabric to accomedate everyone! Which was wonderful! It really was what I had hoped and wished for! Some asked my on arrival” What do you want us/me to do?” and I answered ” Just stitch, what ever comes to mind!”

Bill, who very brilliantly documented the event with photography and film, observed, that there was an ebb and flow of phases of chatting and concentrated stitching. People looked very closely at “washing line” of the Stitch Samplers, which were on display. And were quite fascinated by the amount of writing in the comments. It was observed that there had appeared a common thread in the comments about, moments of stillness, relaxation and enjoyment.

Teresa said: ” I like to do more stitching and just sitting with it, doing what appears.”

The Joy of Stitch

Mindfulness and Stitching

May 24, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

Being mindful, while stitching, brings the dimension to it, I am looking for.

The book “Happiness” by Thich Nhath Hanh is a great inspiration on this way.

It makes a great difference when I stitch and calm my mind. I love the term “Monkey Mind”, it feels friendly, just something that is and sometimes it needs very gentle calming down, a chance to be grounded and relax. I can be kind to my own Monkey Mind and Stitching help’s me to find these moments when breathe and stitch and breathe and smile and with every Stitch come back to breathing in and out.

Stitching brings me into the present when I take care of my mind.

Mindfulness, Slowness, Environmental Responsibility and Connetedness with other people are foundation aspects in my work.

The Joy of Stitch

Thoughts about Pattern and Colour

May 20, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

Someone ,who had looked at the small cloth, remarked that it reminded her of Native American Weaving. In a conversation it opened up the question of the relevance of the pattern and colors I have chosen for my three embroidery pieces. It has also led me back to reflect on the material I have chosen.

The Cloth

The cloth is made out of hemp fiber, it is woven like a rough, rustic natural colored linen, undyed, unbleached, uneven in the weave structure, very unlike the usual embroidery canvas, which is even in its weave. The cloth comes from Poland. Hemp requires a third or a quarter of water in comparison to cotton, no pesticides and bring nutrients back into the soil, instead of leaving it http://www.houseofhemp.co.uk/links.html. Hemp is regarded as one of the most sustainable fibers. In the Northern hemisphere one crop is the rule, in the Southern hemisphere is two crops per annum. Hemp is hard wearing as well in cloth as other uses. The irregularities makes the stitches are uneven, changing in width and length. The embroidered surface becomes more lively to me, with all the changes, while the cross stitch still provides a structure . The Hemp cloth comes from the House of Hemp (Cornwall, Bude) and has been produced in Poland, it is unbleached and uncolored.

The environmental aspect behind the choice of this material is a relevant part in my work. I see a necessity to be coherent in striving to be environmentally mindful as much as I can in all aspects of my life and with this evolving art practice I have found a way of bring my way of showing environmental respect.

For more detailed information on Hemp visit: http://www.houseofhemp.co.uk/links.html

Exerpt from the website:

The House of Hemp
Is a small studio providing Natural and Hand colored yarn
Our Hemp is sourced in Europe
It is folded at Cold Harbour Mill in Devon
We prepare and colour the yarn in our Studio
Using a dye that we consider to be as environmentally friendly as is available currently
Our yarn can be purchased here online or
At the public shows we attend during the year

BEESTON FARM MARHAMCHURCH CORNWALL EX23 0ET UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: 44 (0)1288 381638 E-mail:shopping@houseofhemp.co.uk

The Yarn and its Colours

As I am concerned about the material I use, I wanted to use British wool. What Air miles apply to the food we consume and the consideration that locally produced is better for the environment, the same applies in my thinking to all areas of life and here to my art practice. appletone is a caompany, which produces yarn for embroidery since 1835 and the yarn comes in ove 400 shades. Luckily it is available at Truro Fabrics. (My equivalent to an artist’s material shop!).

The yarn is known for it’s more muted coloures. Single colors often come in at least 3 shades. I started with a rather large cloth (1.50m square); the first environment was St.Mary’s church and I was influenced by the soft tones of whites and grays, but also by the color of, the winter sky, and the sea, which was further enforced as the documentation moved outside onto the beach near Marazion.

Later on I felt like working with warmer tones, so the “Middle One” started with almost pastel tones and moved on to , what I would call “landscape colors”, still warm and more mid tone.

The “Small One” went through a phase of several time unpicking and times of “not right” until it settles at a pattern and a colorful way , in which I feel content with.

The three pieces have a different character to them and fell. What they have in common , is they emerge in the process of creating them, the pattern is very loosely based on Quilt pattern as a acknowledgement to a older Textile tradition.

The mainaspect was, to start in the middle , so that they could grow outwards in time. The exhibition will not be their end, only a break a pause.

When I feel, they are finished is a process in the making.

The Joy of Stitch

“Time and Stitch” Project – The Documentation

May 17, 2013 Christiane Berghoff

Today I have started to document the “Time and Stitch” Project, the first step is to photograph the Stitch Samplers and then to write down the comments. During the process of photographing, I was reading the comments again. It is rather humbling, how many people wrote very appreciative of enjoying their time with the Stitching, certain phrases/words return time and time again: relaxing, quiet, time on my own, enjoying, not much talent, time flew by, stillness. Some people shared personal references about their chosen motives like traveling, family, children. It is a fascinating insight into how these people perceived the experience of Stitching, given a very contained frame work of a postcard sized piece of hemp linen and a bobbin of embroidery wool. Everyone, so far created their own design, no one resorted to a stitch pattern, which is an interesting aspect in itself.