FAQ: How do you embroider the large pieces?

Dreaming is currently at SŌMI Gallery, as part of my show Resplendent. I’m quite attached to this piece for several reasons. It has a subtle bottom layer, the ring of deer, that usually takes some viewing time before it is seen. Also, it took me forever to complete the stitching on this piece! Though it’s hard to see in the photos, three different threads were used and I changed colors every few inches to create a subtle, shimmery gradation.

I’m frequently asked how I embroider the large pieces. With a frame? A hoop? I don’t, primarily because doing so would dent the paper. Instead I use a few different processes. The first can be seen in the photo below— the piece is laid out on a table or a piece of mat board and I work my way around it, lifting the paper with each stitch to get to the back. When a lot of stitching needs to be done in the center of a large work, I suspend the work from the ceiling so I can walk around it as I stitch. The multiple layers of paper create a rather durable surface on which to sew.

Dreaming is on view at SŌMI Gallery in Sturgeon Bay, WI through August 27.