Here is Sue Becker's translation of a friend's painting. The friend may actually be her husband (didn't catch that detail) and the painting may have been done at Fleisher (but I'm not sure)
She had both a large copy shown here and a much smaller copy which she used as a template to trace with carbon paper onto her white silk. She started off with the black gauze overlay covering the entire composition, but then I asked her if she wanted to keep any areas the pure white of the background. She played around with cutouts and finally decided to only use the gauze in the background and hair. I think this helps emphasize the space and increases the contrast levels, both in color and in texture. She then started stitching the hair, using a whipped running stitch with bullions and french knots to represent the corkscrews. With the encouragement to see stitching as comparative to drawing, Sue seemed suddenly more confident in what she was doing and the work seemed to progress quickly.
I think many people have been trained to compartmentalize different media. Painting and drawing and printmaking and sculpting and stitching appear to be so separate. But in truth we all learn to speak a visual language and our skills are transferable. Especially once you get the hang of what you're doing in the new medium.
Sue's piece reminds me a bit of Shizuko Kimuro's life-drawing stitching.
More later!
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