Miriam Badyrka is The Doodler

Long Embroidery

Yes, it is long, and, yes, it took me a long time to complete.

The pictures suck, they are just snaps. The piece hasn't been washed or blocked. I wanted to post it anyway because I am happy it is done.

Like all of the embroidery, it is done doodle style, all on the fly. No drawings or patterns.

This piece is about 40 x 10 inches. The darker color is actually the wall of my dining room. There is none of the stitching detail visible in these detail shots, I was trying to emphasize the cutwork. The second detail has a shadow which makes it easier to see. I will take some shots later for stitching detail later.

 

Embroidery #13

Here is the latest free embroidery doodle in my Books & Needles project. I know the name of this one, but oddly enough, I am not certain which way it ought to be oriented.

Even though I have always twisted and turned my work (this includes paintings, drawings, doodles and even the books) in every direction while working, I have almost always known which way was supposed to be up. My work has always told me which way it wanted to go, but this one ain't talking.

Here it is again, but flipped over. I think it works either way.

In my student days, I was told that it was a sign of a good abstract composition if the work looks good from any direction, but I have never really subscribed to that point of view. I think it is a good exercise to turn work. It gives you a new perspective and fresh eyes, but I still know if the piece is laying on it's side or upside down.

This piece is called The Star Factory. Do stars come from below and float up, or do they come from above and drift away? 

Embroidery #12

Here is the latest embroidery in my Books and Needles Project.

These embroideries are done completely free handed. They are slow motion doodles. By embroidering these doodles, as opposed to drawing them, time stretches out like it would in a dream.

It looks like something you would find if you were looking at a drop of pond water under a microscope. Did you ever do that in science class when you were a kid? It was such a thrill to see that a drop of water was actually teeming with unseen creatures and plant life.

I like this one, it seems joyful, exuberant and full to bursting with life.

Embroidery #10

Here is another one of my Slow Doodles. The doodles are slow because I stitch these, rather than draw them. It slows things to a crawl. Rather like my brain this afternoon.

I call this one Horse Heaven.

But that errant hair in the image? That is canine not than equine. There is probably some feline hair in there too.

I need to get me one of those tapey things, aka  a lint roller, before I take a picture.

Actually, I have one. The thing I have to do is Remember To Use It!

You can see it (and buy it, please) and several other embroideries and even a couple of folded books at Art Over Macleay Park this weekend.

Embroidery #9

                                                              (Slow Doodle 9, embroidery floss on canvas, 8x8 inches)

This is another embroidery in my Books & Needles series.

I have finally figured out that the link between them is the dream state. The folding of the books is directly linked to an actual dream. The embroideries are an attempt to induce or replicate a dream state.

The passage of time in a dream is often different in a dream. When we speak of dream time or use dreamy or dreamlike to describe something, we are speaking of a state where time seems to slow and drifts.

As you all know, I think doodles are the drawing version of dreams. Like a doodle, the embroideries are spontaneous and unplanned. The embroideries look like doodles, because they are doodles, done while my mind is busy with something else.

The act of doodling is altered by my choice to stitch rather than draw. Embroidering is a much slower process than drawing with a pen. The time spent doodling is changed, stretched as it would be in a dream.

The Books & Needles project is on view at Albina Bank .

 (Detail Slow Doodle 9, click to see full size)

Embroidery #7

I really like this embroidery. Don't know why the little people have crept into this embroidery but they give a bit of personality to the medallion images.

The Book and Needles Project is still as mysterious to me as ever, but my handling of the craft aspect is becoming ever surer.

Part of the difficulty I have been experiencing comes from my ground material. Embroidery and canvas are not really well suited for each other. But I like the visual coarseness of canvas.

The drawback of working on canvas is that it allows me much less ability to make fine stitches or limits the evenness of the stitches. The coarseness of the material dictates where and how I can use the needle, and also the length of stitch in a particular area.

I like the textural effect of the coarse medium and  the heavy texture. It adds weight to the simple images.

Questions

Here is the latest embroidery based on a block doodle, with some random embroidery doodling added because I wasn't done sewing or something. 

The stitched doodling has started me off on another experiment. The embroidery I am currently working on is a.) white on white and b.) entirely free hand, not based on anything. I am embroidering like I doodle, just letting myself sew whatever the needle comes up with. 

Can this work? The preliminary verdict is yes, but I have just begun to work on this one. 

Why am I not painting? I am spending all my time embroidering and folding books, rather than painting. It is disorienting. I have defined myself as a painter for so many years that it is strange to not be doing it. I am certain that I will be back at it at some point, but, for now, I have to follow the embroidery and book folding through to where ever it is leading.

I have come up with even more questions for myself then I posted yesterday. Now I have 26 questions to ponder while I work. 

Embroidery

Here is my latest embroidered doodle. This one is a bit smaller, 6x6 inches, if you don't count in the border. It is from one of the square paper  doodles. 

I could use a finer linen and fewer threads to get cleaner lines and curves, but I like the jagged effect of the coarse fabric and thick thread. It looks invitingly tactile and rustic.

Embroidery II

Here is another embroidered piece adapted from a doodle. This one is about 7.5 inches (more or less) square, sewn in black thread, on a 10 inch square canvas.

The doodle is 2.5 x 3 inches, and done in black ink on paper. As you can see, the embroidery is faithful to the doodle without being an exact copy.

Doodles just happen. I don't make any conscious decisions regarding content or design. I just let the pen wander where it will.

Once I begin to make a finished piece, using a doodle for inspiration, I also start making conscious decisions regarding content and composition.

The first choice in the translation process was to make a square embroidery out of a rectangular original. I had to make design choices regarding what elements were to stay, and which were going to be left out.

I also shuffled some of the light and dark elements to give the piece visual balance, and varied the size of the repeating elements for variety and movement.

Doodle, Embroidered

This is a completed embroidery that was directly adapted from a doodle.

I changed the format from a rectangle to a square, so some of the elements have been shifted a bit. I used black thread on a white ground. I really like the way the pen line translates to thread. I like the texture and tactile quality of the embroidery.

(Click on image to see full size view)