Wednesday 11 April 2012

Sea Gypsy

sea gypsy 2


You know those Home Sweet Home samplers that you see? You know how you expect to see them? Well, I decided to put my own spin on it. This was how Sea Gypsy was born. My home is not really bricks and mortar. My home, I suppose, is a cruise ship. It is a different one every time, but it is home for the space of time I am on it. When I am between contracts I go back to my parents house to visit, granted, but it's not really where I live anymore. I don't really live anywhere but the sea.

sea gyspy 4


I took the Home Sweet Home concept and fit it to my lifestyle. Instead of using the usual house motif, I used a ship. Sprawling mountains range behind it and the sea swirls around the hull.

sea gypsy 1


I used a verigated thread that reminded me of the art work on the side of the first ship I worked on (and, actually, the ship I just got off of). I experimented with waste canvas so that I could cross stitch the recognised phrase down the side of the ship, as if it were the art work itself. The rest of the piece is my usual embroidery, bringing myself and the traditional together.

sea gypsy 5


This piece is simple in both it's style and execution, however, the meaning behind it is quite complex and full, particularly to me. And that's what art is really about.

sea gypsy 3