My drawing of an elderly couple who sat opposite me on a London commute is continuing to push my art form to levels that I could never have imagined.
Nine years ago, my late husband and I were discussing the merits of studying art to degree level. Carl said that he could accept the cost and disruption to our family life if we could be sure that it would lead somewhere. I wasn’t sure if that would happen but persuaded him because I just wanted to do it.
I had never embroidered before I started my degree at Bath Spa and only used my sewing machine to make clothes. Now I sit at my machine wondering how all this happened. I am both excited and continually challenged because the drawing has been formidable. It has pushed the boundaries of stitch and my understanding of the art.
Every new part of the drawing has brought different challenges that I hadn’t quite expected. The difficulties creating colours from thread to match skin tones, making the carrier bag look translucent, capturing the reflections in the window and the aged hand gripping the bags tight. But now it is nearing completion with only a quarter of the drawing left to stitch before I pin it to loft boards and wash out the supporting, dissolvable fabric.
The completed drawing will be on show at Chelsea College of Art, 12th to 21st July 2018 as part of the Society of Designer Craftsmen show, ‘The Hand of the Maker’.
