I’ve been working on converting images to line drawings. I’ve done the tree on the right and the large strawberry and the sun on the top part of the mirror, working anti-clockwise around the design. This is a bit clearer, isn’t it!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The blank space under the strawberry will be hillock. I have to work on the flow of the hillocks from the top of the mirror to the hillock the tree stands on on the right hand side – probably by adding a second, background hillock behind the tree which is at the same height as the top hillocks.
I’m basing my tree on the one shown in the panel at Metropolitan Museum 1974.28.200. I love how the smaller branch, done in tent stitch, gives the appearance of being further back from the main trunk, which is detached needlelace done over padding. The leaves on the rightmost branch of the main trunk are also done in tent stitch, also making them appear further back. The detached leaves on the main trunk (most accompanied by ‘shadow’ surface stitch copies of themselves) add another dimension. The moss, created by drizzle stitch, adds texture. Zooming in on the image at the Met shows that the trunks are done in several shades of brown, and the moss is done in lots of different shades as well. I can’t wait to (attempt to) re-create it.
Clik here to view.
Metropolitan Museum 1974.28.200
I used 5 pages of tracing paper to create my design for the tree. On the first page, I drew just the two tree trunks and the owl. The second had the surface stitched leaves – so placing the second paper over the first, I could see the full design created so far, but still retain separate physical copies of these different stages of the tree ‘build’. The next layer was the detached leaves. The final layer was the flower and the snail (space fillers under the tree). The drawing shown here is the ‘full’ tracing, showing all 5 layers, with the detached leaves marked in a gold pen on the outline. I made some of the leaves ‘fall over’ the edge of the mirror, to soften the mirror edge, as I want my piece to be organic in feel.
The snail falls off the edge of the mirror. I’m not sure whether I like this or not. It gives a sense of continuity of ‘life beyond the mirror’ – but given that the outer 1cm of the mirror will be covered in silver tape, there won’t be much snail to see! Perhaps a smaller motif, a bit closer to the tree.
I hope that you like my winking owl.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
