Inspired Stitch: A Creative Journey
Design and Stitch from Photographs
Gwen Hedley
For many years I have been inspired by the shores of Dungeness in Kent. My creative journeys have always
begun by spending time there, soaking up the atmosphere, using my senses of sight, hearing, smell and touch
- it's quite a physical beginning. I study the big broad picture before focusing and coming in close to
whatever attracts me. Then the all important sketchbook/notebook and camera come into play.
My camera is a vital piece of equipment. I need high quality close-up images that reveal details of colour, line
and texture, so that I can work from them at a later stage. I do make quick sketches on site, and I certainly
make a lot of written notes. I record what it is that I like about my chosen source, as this will help me when
I get to the design stage, by reminding me what characteristics I want to interpret, and what the 'feeling'
of the piece will be.
The Image
For the purposes of this article, I will concentrate
on just one image, and show the journey from the
initial photograph through to the finished stitched
work. The image selected is a close-up shot of part
of a metal plate embedded in a painted wall. The
metal has eroded and the rust has stained the
paint, forming areas of diluted colour and streaked
lines. The attractions that this image held for me:
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An unusual colour scheme, of white,
turquoise, rust, burgundy, black and white enough for me to experiment with, modify
and change emphases as I wished.
Layers of colour, with plenty of tonal
variation.
Interesting outlined shapes within the white
area.
Soft irregular edges between the distinct
areas of colour.
Gwen Hedley workshop - Sept 2007
I set to work using my 'adjustable window cards' to select areas for drawing. Moving two L-shaped pieces of
card around a photograph gives windows that can be can long and thin, short and wide, square or anything in
between depending upon how the Ls are positioned. From this photograph, by using my adjustable window to
select different areas, I was able to create several abstract designs, two of which were developed into
patched cloths, forming the ground fabrics for Metal Plate 1 and Metal Plate 2, in the Boxed and Shelved
series of work. In this series, boxes were filled with assembled detritus from the shore and inset into
stitched cloths. The thought processes behind the boxes and their significance is too lengthy for this article
so it is limited to just the designing and stitching of the cloths.
The Drawing and Design
The point of the art work is not to make an exact copy of the original but to interpret it. The act of
observational drawing makes us look carefully and gain an intimate knowledge of the source material in terms
of shape, line, form and colour. Artwork is an important 'step on the way' to the stitched piece.
Having decided upon the section to work with, I turned to my large sketchbook and began drawing. The small
section of photograph needed to be greatly enlarged and I paid attention to proportion and scale. I drew
with a stick and ink, as this helped me to be freer in my approaches - it's hard to get too fiddly with a
sharpened kebab stick as a drawing tool. After the initial drawing, I blocked in the colour using acrylic
paints, remembering to use different tones of each colour to reflect the richness of the original, and to
avoid 'flat' colour.
I often spread the colour on thinly, scraping it along the surface of the paper, using a narrow piece of
plastic. Old credit cards cut into strips are perfect for this, as they are very flexible and, cutting them
lengthwise, you can get three strips of different widths. Painting in this way is quick and direct and is
especially effective if you want a 'blocky' effect with your colours, which I did in this particular body of
work.
When the initial blocks of colour were laid down, I
used soft pastels to work over the top of it, rubbing
them in with my fingers. This enriched the colours,
adding different tones, and also gave me layers of
colour, reflecting the nature of the source material.
After that, came a third layer of work, using
coloured pencils. This enabled me to refine areas
and give further tonal changes to the work.
I repeated the pastel and pencils stages, gradually
adding more layers of marks and further depth of
colour, paying attention to the edges where one
colour joined another, to create broken irregular
boundary lines. I referred back to the photograph,
sometimes with a magnifier, discovering dots of
unexpected colour and subtle changes of tone within
each colour. The final, freely coloured, surface
pencil lines are important, as these will act as a
guide to stitching when I begin to work with
fabrics.
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Gwen Hedley workshop - Sept 2007
Cloth and Stitch: Metal Plate 1
71 x 47 x 5 cm (28 x 18 x 2 in)
The next step is to prepare fabrics ready for stitch. I like to use old fabric whenever possible. I like the
fact that they have a history and it seems in keeping with the worn nature of my design reference. Old
cotton or linen sheets, backs of shirts, old linen tea towels, calico - any natural fabrics will do. If there are
holes or other signs of wear then so much the better.
Using the artwork as a guide to the palette needed, and using acrylics, I painted large areas of burgundies,
terracottas, turquoises, whites and greys, with acrylic paints, varying the dilution so that I got different
densities of colour. As with the artwork, I used several shades of each colour. When they were dry, I set
about cutting the fabrics up in order to patch and layer pieces together. The artwork was the guide as
regards shape and proportion of colour, but the piece was eventually much larger. The cut fabrics were laid
or pinned onto paper stabiliser before the initial round of 'holding down' stitching, done very spontaneously
with free machining. I then made my thread selection, making sure that, as with the coloured pencils, I had
several different turquoises, several whites etc. With the foundation laid, I stitched more densely, changing
threads frequently, to enrich the overall colour. I overstitched one colour with another - layers of stitch and
layers of colour.
When free machining in this way, I consider my
machine as a drawing tool, using the needle to work
freely, changing directions and colours in the same
way as with pencils. At this stage, I refer back to
the art work, looking again at those final surface
pencil marks, using them as a guide for the top layer
of stitching.
So it was, that in this piece, I softened edges of
colour by stitching over the boundaries and altered
the bobbin tension to bring dots of a different
colour up from beneath the work (see below). The
entire cloth was completed in this way, and then
began the construction of the box and the final
building of the finished piece (see right).
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Gwen Hedley workshop - Sept 2007
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Gwen Hedley workshop - Sept 2007
Metal Plate 2
41 x 33 x 5 cm (16 x 7 x 2 in)
I moved the L-shaped card right angles around
the original image and was drawn to an area with
a distinct small rectangular shape within the
white section (see right). I decided to make
slight changes to the colour balance, enlarging
and giving more importance to the turquoise area,
and giving emphasis to terracotta, rather than
burgundy.
I approached the artwork in the same manner as
with Metal Plate 1, using several layers and many
tones of colour. Again, the final layers of pencil
marks were important (see right). The stitching
process was as before, with layers of machine
stitching, colouring with thread to soften lines
and edges, and to give highlights (see below).
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Gwen Hedley workshop - Sept 2007
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Gwen Hedley workshop - Sept 2007
Photographs of work are from the CD Elements of Change. It
features 75 printable images, including 30 pieces of Gwen
Hedley's work, close-up details, her design sources,
explanatory texts and sketchbook pages. Price: £5.95 + £1.00
p&p.
The image for design is from the CD Surface and Structure. It
features 114 high quality, printable, close-up images, including
painted metals, rust, paper and fibre, wood, structures, stone
and wall. There is also a tutorial giving suggestions and ideas on
how to use the images for design. Price: £7.95 + £1.00 p&p.
If buying both, please send a cheque for £15.00 to include p&p.
Gwen Hedley, Copthorne, The Undercliff, Sandgate,
Folkestone, Kent CT20 3AT, UK, email gwenhedley@btinternet.
com.
Gwen Hedley studied embroidery at East Berks.
College, was a National Medallist, and holds the
Diploma in Stitched Textiles. She is an experienced
freelance tutor and has taught extensively in the
UK and abroad. She is a member of The Practical
Study Group (www.practicalstudygroup.co.uk),
exhibits regularly and has work in private
collections. She is the author of 'Surfaces for
Stitch: Plastics Films and Fabrics'.
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