Embroidered Tweets and Love Notes, Saturday at 3rd Ward

Dear blog readers,

Some fun things are brewing. I recently added a whole bunch of new classes to my 3rd Ward embroidery workshops roster.

This Saturday is Embroidered Tweets and Love Notes - perfect for beginners! Sign up now via 3rd Ward's web site. The deadline to enroll is Thursday, so don't miss out!

As I mentioned, the class is this Saturday, 12/1, from 1:30-5:30 at 3rd Ward in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

On Thanksgiving, I am grateful for family time and embroidery time

A four-day weekend for an artist really means: how much progress can I make on this piece I want to finish? How many grant proposals can I write? Which residencies should I target for my next round of applications? Who do I need to follow up with about upcoming shows? Where is my art being exhibited right now, and do I have time to go photograph it on site?

Yes, we work all the time. For me, it doesn't feel like work, so I'm trying to say thank you for unscheduled days when I can make my work without too many external pressures or responsibilities.

Thanks also to my family for hosting a delicious and colorful (see below) Thanksgiving meal yesterday. I can't wait to eat the leftovers today. I admit to having a turkey and cheddar cheese sandwich last night as the perfect sequel to our Thanksgiving lunch.

Watermelon radish with turnip on plaid tablecloth.

Finally, I am so excited to have finished a piece I've been thinking about and embroidering slowly for the past few weeks (again, see below). I channeled my inner teenage girl for this one. Candy cane-colored hearts – OMG!

Digital embroidery - a new process to learn

Finally. Yes. I took the plunge into personal digital embroidery (the machine calls itself a personal embroidery machine. As opposed to an industrial or business machine? Like a PC or personal computer?).

My first experiments below. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about tension of the thread...

Tattoos and embroidery

My brother got married in September, the same weekend as the Brooklyn-Museum sponsored Go Brooklyn open studio weekend. I was in silver heels with my nails done (a twice-a-year event) and an ill-fitting purple-grey dress, while my Brooklyn art friends were career-building. 

One of the wedding highlights for me was seeing one of my brother's friend's amazing tattoo-covered leg. From what I remember, one of her legs is largely adorned, and it looks like she's wearing these celebratory, asymmetrical tights. She and I talked about tattoos (I don't have any even though I admire them on other people all the time), and I've since been heavily dreaming about a tattoo that looks embroidered. 

A Google images search for tattoo fonts and tattoo hearts yielded some pretty fascinating results: I've started embroidering my name in tattoo lettering, and am thinking of embroidering an image of an anatomical heart (yes, people do have tattoos that are this literal!). Maybe a new series is on its way?

Image from http://waktattoos.com/id5973/heart-tattoo-600x799-pixel.html

The start of my name embroidered in a tattoo font with stylized roses.

Happiness

"Happiness." 2012. Embroidery on 

fabric dyed with purple onion skin.

Let Me Be Enough

One of my Dumbo Arts Festival confessions: "every day I pray as I walk out the door 'let me be enough.'"

This is interesting to me, because I sometimes think that I am too much of something...

My answer of love is you (in Korean AND English)