I usually have several projects going at once. So if one of them gets sulky and isn’t cooperating, I can just work on another. Right now, ALL of my current pieces are sitting in a corner and sticking their tongues out. I try to sew them and they say ”why bother?” So it’s time to move on to something else…..
There are basically 2 types of buttonholes: the type made by machine stitching 2 long connected rows and then cutting a slit between them, and the bound buttonhole. Bound buttonholes are very elegant, lovely little things. I had the idea of stitching flawless buttonholes on fine gray wool, and combining that with a flood of blood-red buttons. Like this:
A combination of the normal… and the chaotic overload. I figured it might be a good idea to see what any other textile artists are doing with buttonholes, and found Maxine Bristow:
Her art has a subdued sophistication that is light-years beyond me…
On her website, https://www.maxinebristow.com/plain-sewing-in-the-space-of-painting, you can see more of her textile art…most of which doesn’t seem to include buttonholes, but is equally compelling. Meanwhile…maybe I could use a suit to imply the regular grayness:
Years ago, I created a sculpture with red fabric exploding out of a tightly pressed head. Do I have a photo? probably. Can I find it? no…..but these photoshopped suits do give a nice contrast.
By flipping one suit on top of the other, I get a great composition with real visual power. But here’s the question: should I just leave it as a visual image? Is it worth the effort to stitch this into a textile piece of art?
later……