2nd Place, Professional Mixed Media

I’m so in love with grasses and wild flowers! I love their beautiful color and form in every season. I love their warm, earthy scent and swaying wind dance. I’ve picked them from ditches to decorate my home, and I’ve sketched them for embroidery. But my question is always how to capture their ethereal beauty and form in needle and thread. To solve this puzzle, I decided to turn to an old form of needlework, raised work. Using this technique of knots and loops, I was able to create in my hand my beloved grasses. A light brush of a liquid stiffening medium on the thread stem gave the grasses the structure they needed to be held and gathered in much the same way I had gathered those from nature.

Winter Meadow was made this past December, inspired by the quiet sleeping meadows that surround my home. The lightly painted sun circle adds to the feeling of winter’s soft light while the little bird brings the thought of spring’s return.