Leave no doubts

Just in case you were not yet fully convinced that I am obsessed with stitching paper, here is another piece that I am working on presently which will leave no doubts.

Another stitched paper in progress

Here’s the thing: I struggle with this kind of work, because it is so time consuming. But no matter what kinds of shortcuts I find for myself (like free motion stitching by machine), I eventually find myself getting back to long, meditative hours with a needle and thread. I remind myself, to no avail,  how much more productive I could be if I just painted and stitched by machine. Period. But I keep hand stitching anyway. In fact, in this piece I added a new wrinkle by imposing ripped pieces to the paper, bit by bit, and stitching them in place, rather than just stitching a single painted or printed page.

I do love the worn edges. The whole paper becomes worn after a while, and feels quite cloth-like. I guess I’ll  just have to trust that I need to do this ~ because I am. Where it’s taking me will surface in its own good time. And I do know that being creative is more than just being productive.

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