England, Karen Fullalove, Life in Balance

This piece was inspired watching the fishermen mend their nets locally to me and connecting it to my work as a spinner.  It is entitled ‘Life in Balance’ and shows a fisherman mending his net and a woman spinning.  There is much thought on equality of male and female; not only in connection with others but within us.  Our masculine side is active, directional, intellectual and the feminine is passive, intuitive, emotional. 

Symbolism has existed since the earliest discovered Palaeolithic drawings in caves, over 30,000 years ago.  These drawings of creatures and geometric forms held important meaning, their purpose being to invoke, empower or announce.  With the advent of weaving, these symbols were transferred to cloth.

Women were the embroiderers and used cloth as the basis for their symbolic language.  They were the architects of their designs and would use this language to express their individual identity, the identity of their family, their homestead, region, country, and spiritual beliefs.  It was one of the ways they supported the emotional wellbeing of their family.  

Symbolic embroidery has been performed for thousands of years and the similarity in use and meaning from quite separate cultures is significant – a mystical united verse.

This unique art piece embraces an abundance of embroidery stitches and techniques to emphasise meaning and give a beautiful texture. It is a slow and complex art.  The design, colour balance, stitch selection, yarn processing, stitching, and finishing take a minimum of four months to complete.  The result is a window into a world which radiates peace, warmth, and beauty.  An oasis of calm you can return to each day to feel free.

With this piece you will receive a personal letter explaining the symbolism, design and history within your picture so you can contemplate and enjoy the ‘united verse’.

Details

Canvas High quality Zweigart natural cotton canvas is used for the foundation of the embroidery.

Yarn Romney fleece from sheep on local smallholdings is hand scoured, carded and spun by the artist, donated wool, donated cotton coated in gilt

Finishing – In the finishing process, the piece is first stretched and blocked then mounted and laced with linen twine to a stretcher frame.

Framing - Your artwork is framed in oak, designed to my specification, with wood pegs at corners, no glass

Care - Wool is naturally self-protective and any dust may be removed by a simple tapping of the piece.  As with watercolours, it is recommended to hang away from direct sunlight to protect the colours.

Delivery time 4 weeks