Continuing on the theme of line, but relaxing the rules slightly to include 'flat stuff' I've been playing with couching. I very rarely work with black fabric, but the colours on this piece needed it.
As I stitched I became aware that I was taking inspiration from my old life as a plant biochemist. A world I left many years ago. Looking back through my archived pieces I was struck by how often my subconscious 'design- guru' takes ideas from that part of my experience.
The couched sample could quite easily be an abstract representation of membrane structures inside plant cells. The painted lines that I initially roller-printed on to the fabric probably enhances that idea.
A piece I did some time ago, using string, a lot of gold paint and some beads, has the same inspiration, although I'm not sure I realised it at the time.
My tutor's parting advice when I finished my West Dean course was to make work in sets, or series, so I'm going to tackle a set of small embroideries. Microscope-slide sized pieces on a theme of cell membranes. Quantum Biology is the in thing at the moment - perhaps a little textile art is what it needs!
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