Art: From Enchantment To Down

One More Trophy - Pocahontas

I stumbled across a blog post on BUST magazine's website the other day from a few months ago but wanted to write about it here. Check out the original post here.

Just a Trap - Alice


My Sweet Prince - Snow White

Thomas Czarnekis is a photography artist and in his latest series he takes Disney princesses and places them in doomed situations. The writer of the original blog post I read about this seemed quite offended by these images but they made me think.

Happy End - The Little Red Riding Hood


On The Other Shore - The Little Mermaid

I have never see the Disney Princesses as images of frail women who needed men to function. To me they are women going after what they want, some to me seem stronger than others but I have never seen them as contrary to my strong feminine beliefs. Apparently some people do and the art of Czarnekis has strengthened this concept, even making people look at the art as if it condones violence towards women because they are fragile.

Too Fast - Cinderella


Not So Romantic - Beauty and the Beast

I don't see it this way. To me it seems that it is shattering an image of perfection that women cannot live up to. Perhaps even a perfection that our modern world makes it difficult to manifest. These images may even represent the destruction of the frail feminine in our modern world because our modern ideals break it down. Also, a very good point was made in a comment on the original BUST blog post - these stories were not written by Disney. Fairy Tales were stories of violence, danger and abuse used as warnings. Perhaps these images harp back to those origins as well.

Naughty Girl - Sleeping Beauty


One Last Wish - Jasmine

I like these images - I do not think they promote violence towards women or make women seem frail. Instead they make you think, which is really what art is supposed to be about.

To see them on Czarneckis' website go here.
To see a further post on the on DesignBoom go here

Tiger Feet!

It has been far too long since I posted a blog! I have been super busy at work and haven't had time to do any stitching, but the Phat Quarter had a swap so I just had to find time for that.

This time the theme was the 1970s and rather than go to my usual standby of a piece based on David Bowie I thought I would do something different. As a costumer, and a girl, I really love shoes and as a teenager I was really into 1970s platforms - the perfect subject for my piece!

After chatting with my swap partner, Juline, I based the colours on a story she told me. A combination of blue, orange, silver and purple seemed very 70s to me.

I found the border fabric in a quilt store in Seattle and thought it was perfect for this piece, incorporating the colours and almost a 1970s wallpaper feel.

Not a bad little effort in the time I had!

Sketchbook Project Limited Edition

Goodness, it has been a long time! I have been settling in on my new ship, the install of the new cast was very busy and there is still soem work to be done, but I have five minutes right now to post a blog so I thought I's better pop in!

I'm currently in Alaska, enjoying the crisp air, inspiration and beer :-) I've already bought some lovely dyed fabrics from Juneau that I have plans for. I also have an embroidery piece in mind for a friend, now I just need to find time to start it.

Until then here is a little art to tide you over. I worked on a Sketchbook for the Art House Co-Op's Limited Edition project where one spread from each book entered will be put into a series of art books. I tried to express my process and show some experimentation with the theme Thread and Surface.

I experimented with surface design techniques and then used the fabrics I created to make mixed media collages at the end of the book. Some of the techniques worked really well and others need some work. I really liked flour paste resist once I got the hang of it and silk painting is always a winner.

I think I might turn some of these into prints at some point, or greetings cards - what do you think?

Cross Stitched Iphone Case

Do you remember a couple of months ago I said that I hadn't cross stitched in many a year? I was working on designs for an iPhone case and forgot to show you the finished piece - so here it is!

I hand painted the aida with acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium to get my own custom colour. I did this on 14 count and actually really enjoyed it. I didn't find it quite as freeing as hand embroidery though so I think I will stick to that :-)

Here it is finished and flat...

and here it is on the phone. Unfortunately the case I had it in broke and I can't find one that will shut properly around my phone with the embroidery in it :-( If you hear of one, let me know!

Dirty Doily WARNING!!!!

I have a friend who uses some colourful language on a regular basis. Now, I have a mouth like a sailor, but Steph gives me a run for my money. Steph is moving into a new house so I wanted to make her a little house warming gift. I decided to combine one of her favourite words with a vintage doily....

BE WARNED!! Strong language is used in this piece, don't go passed the shocked housewife if you will be offended :-)

I had been wanting to embroider something on a vintage doily for a while and this seemed like the perfect project for one. It will fit in with all the bits and pieces that Steph has collected on her travels...

A word that Steph uses a lot is 'cuntress'. The word will forever remind me of her - in a good way :-)

I used a simple split stitch in four strands of red embroidery floss to make the word really stand out. I got the lovely doily from Jo Ashcroft - thank you very much! I will be making her something, not quite so profane though, as a thank you gift!

It's Springtime!

The most recent Phat Quarter swap was themed around Spring. When I heard this I thought of only one thing - Zebedee!

For those who don't know, Zebedee is a character from a children's tv show called The Magic Roundabout. It was on tv in the 60s and 70s but was repeated when I was a child. It was great and groovy and Zebedee was a jack-in-the-box.

I decided to produce a piece in a hoop frame. I've not done this before and I just got given a bunch of wooden hoops exactly for this purpose. I think it suited this piece quite well, in fact my mum liked it so much I have to make her one as well :-)

This is a bit more twee than my usual pieces but it's bright and cheery which is exactly what spring time should be about!

Sea Gypsy

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.

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.

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.

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.