29 May 2013

Machine stitching on coated canvas

During the studio clearing, a piece of artists canvas came to hand. "Can you machine stitch this" I wondered [the answer should be obvious] and immediately sat down at the machine to do some doodling.
The plain side had some sticky-tape residue so I had the coated side up. Top thread was thinner than the bobbin threads, which came to the surface nicely but not very controlledly -
What I like is that the surface is stiff - though that rather limits its use to small pieces, unless you were quite controlled about rolling it up while stitching. 

The white background might be good for layering up sheers - it would shine through. The small pieces of canvas could be put on stretchers afterwards. (I also found a big box of sheers, and wondered if they'd ever get used -- well, here's a project ... at the moment there's nothing I want to "say" that can be expressed in this way, but these things gestate in the subconscious....)

The stiffness might be useful for the cover of a book, or rather a pamphlet, something floppy with an abstract design perhaps - but what would be inside the book, how would that relate to the cover? 

The usual use of artists canvas is for painting onto - using it for "painting" with thread or fabric is a little subversive. I like that. "Real" canvas is prepared with layers of gesso - hmm, can you stitch through gesso? As soon as my tub of gesso turns up, I'll give it a go.

3 comments:

Olga Norris said...

Would stitching through differing layers of sheers fit in some way with your fascinating collection of work on the theme of memory/forgetting? I think about your work on that topic from time to time, and was just musing the other day that my forgetting of folks' names - but remembering everything else about them - is like peering at their name through layers of other things I do remember about them.

Sandy said...

You could now paint over the stitching.
Sandy

Felicity said...

you can but you need a tough needle and plenty of gumption :) I always feel a bit anxious about powdered gesso getting into the machine so I haven't done very often.

And you do need a fairly thin layer of gesso - not too many swirls and thick textures!