Inspirations and Influences I

Last semester one of the craft grads mentioned that their professor had told them to compile a list of 100 people/places/things that inspire and influence their artmaking. It's something I've been wanting to do ever since. If I do two a week by the end of the year I'll have my hundred.

So, I'm starting off with the artist that got me started in this embroidery thing. I was a young mom, frustrated with not being able to spend time in the studio, needing a way to fulfill my art habit and still be a conscientious parent. My fiber background was mostly in weaving, which is just as bad as painting in the need-to-spend-time-in-the-studio category. Somewhere along the line I stumbled upon the work of Linda Behar, probably in an issue of Fiberarts Magazine

Linda Behar at the time was doing these really lovely little landscape embroideries that reminded me of the landscape around Big Timber River in Camden County, NJ where I grew up. I was amazed at her ability to create something painting-like in thread, so I tried it out myself. I quickly fell in love with the artistic possibilities of needle and thread, so much faster than tapestry weaving and so much more portable than painting.

I've been stitching ever since.