First Place, Professional Non-Original with Instruction; Judge’s Choice

At the EGA National Seminar in Phoenix in 2014, Gale Washington offered a pulled work/surface and canvas stitch piece called Waterfall. The design is an opportunity to study light and shadow, the use of suggested line, and above all, the idea of incorporating the ground into the design.

We had a very powerful discussion in class about the value scale as it related to the various pulled stitches: how dark or light did a pulled work stitch compare with another? Where does the unstitched ground fabric fall on the value scale?

It is remarkable to be able to “see” the rocks, the waterfall, and the splash and mist suggested by the selection of stitches and added materials. While the designer chose not to have any of the pulled stitches compensated, she did encourage us to compensate with the surface stitches in order to have enough of each rock to make it “appear”. It was a delight to watch this scene come to life as I stitched it.