My kind of installation!

Ana Martins, who works as Aheneah

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Instantly inspired.

I was a late bloomer to Instagram, but I must say, I love it. It's a quick way to see what some of my favorite people are up to, visually. Sometimes it's enough to just log onto their page and glance, without even strolling down the page. Like a quick injection of visual vitamins!
My Instagram page from this morning:

Here are a few examples from my Instagram travels this morning...

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Thoughts on design - an insight.

Geometric canvas designs are magical. They begin like a doodle game. I remember the days when there were only landline phones and you had to sit right by the phone because it would only move so far from the wall outlet.  There you sat listening to the person on the other end and your hands wanted to do something. I think that's when doodling was invented!
A large area, just a simple shape, began splitting into smaller areas that resembled a jigsaw puzzle. Any two smaller shapes formed a negative space and in turn that area would be a playground for some more doodling.
I use the practices I developed during the long phone sit ins when I go about designing a geometric.

Let's look at one of the more important parts of my Dare Design workshop, the watercolor part. You are given 25 pieces of fine quality watercolor paper for experimentation. Your large outer space will be a triangle.

I will begin with some dividing lines and I will split up the triangle to smaller parts.

I drew a line across the top of the triangle, about 1/2 way down and then drew some dividing shapes within the top triangular shape. And I kept dividing these areas up and filling the negative spaces.

I continue working on the areas I've determined, now with color.  Each section is given a color, some are repeated in a symmetrical fashion and I build up the top triangular area until it seems right. 

Of course there is much more I can do with the sections I have formed. But that will come later, on the canvas. For now I have drawn and painted a beautiful map which will be a guide when my needle hits the canvas.

Why don't you join in on this exercise? Look at the shapes I have painted and make some suggestions as to which stitches you would use to translate the shapes onto canvas.  I have numbered a few of the areas below. Reference the numbers and make your suggestions in the comments here on the blog.

This is a small sampling of what we will be doing in my Dare Design workshop.  Our journey will lead you to acquiring the tools to design your own geometrics. 

Can't wait to hear from you!! 

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My design process; the How and Why

I really can't say what made me design these segments. Why did I choose these threads, why did I decide to change direction on the canvas?  Why did I stitch the Jessicas below in the sizes and shapes I did and why did I fill them in with the stitches shown below? What was it about the overdye I used in the diamond on the bottom right that compelled me to use it and surround it by greens and reds?

The only way I can share why and how is if you are there with me when I make these choices,  when I experiment with them,  when I stitch them in and pull them out.

That is why I am offering a new experience, an online design experience.  You will be at my side as I work up a new design and as I bring it together step by step, you will stitch it along with me.  Read about it below...


"Over the many years I've been designing, one question comes up again and again... how do you design a new piece? No matter how detailed my answer is, no matter how hard I try to explain the process, I come away feeling a bit frustrated. Words can't always shed light on how a new design comes to be.
But there is one way you are sure to understand, and in fact be there as it happens! Come design with me! An online class where you buddy up with me as I design a brand new piece!! On a private dedicated Facebook page, whatever I do, you will do, as I do it. As I come up with each step, I will send it to you, charts and explanation. Step by step, stopping along each time to bring what I do to you, we will stitch a new design together.
You will recieve 18 count mono canvas and a lovely group of fibers. This "mystery" class is different from other mystery classes. In this class I don't know what we are doing either. But it will unfold and you will be there with me to stitch each step and discuss the process. You will receive the kit and a start date, (June 12th). You will also get an invitation to a private dedicated Facebook page where we will meet to talk about the process and exchange thoughts. Don't worry if you are afraid you won't be able to keep up due to your own time constraints, stitch when you can and join us when you have the time.
See you at the drawing board!!"

Sign up for this experience HERE!

You can read more HERE, and always ask me questions!

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How I proved there are no rules in color!

Some days I put on my lab coat and conduct color experiments.  These are my notes from yesterday's experiment...


Using Adobe Illustrator I pulled up a photo of one of my stitched designs.  

Using the most fabulous Eyedropper Tool I pulled 24 colors out of the my stitched design and placed them into identically sized squares.  Here are the squares:

I took the squares I had pulled and mixed them up. I placed the colors underneath the first batch in different order.  I also took the same colors and changed the number of rows and columns on the board.  I asked myself:  Did each of these groupings look different?  Did they seem to have different colors? Not clear.

Next I took the color group and set it up in a random shape, placing the colors in different sequences.

I changed the sizes of the squares as well, some becoming larger rectangles and some only slivers of color. Once I completed two different combinations I added a background to each of the combinations using a background color from my groupings.

What interesting combinations!  

Looking back at the original group of colors I wondered; should a rosey pink look good with a elephant brown? How about a lilac purple with a bright yellow? Would they seem like a good place to start for a bright upbeat elegant piece of wearable art?  I wouldn't expect them to.

I went back to my original group of colors and decided to play with them in different sizes and shapes and see if I could come up with a beautiful sophisticated design and color combination.  I came up with this, using my colors only.

My very scientific conclusion is... there are NO rules in the world of color.  Each and every rule you bring to the table can be disproven!  Each and every time you say that a group of colors don't go together, there is bound to be a way in which the colors will look fabulous together!!  

BTW, here is the piece I used to pull my colors in the first place, Capital Jewels Cuff revisited :

I never knew I like science this much!!  😉

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How I make my stitch choices on painted canvas?

Before I answer that question, I would like to categorize the type of stitch choices that can be made when stitching a painted canvas.  As with anything else, you can categorize the same thing in many ways, so for instance let's take dresses as an example...  I can categorize dresses using lengths as my category scale, (mini, knee length, maxi etc.), or I can use season as the category, (summer dresses, winter dresses, transition dresses), or maybe even colors, (bright colors, white dresses etc.). Each of these categories make sense and are good indicators, it's just a matter of what I'm attempting to differentiate.  

I am going to use this following indicators for categorizing stitches to use on painted canvas:

Realistic stitching - stitches I choose to use in order to achieve a painted canvas which looks as realistic as possible.  

Technique stitching - I will use as many types of stitches as I can and in this way turn my canvas into a teaching piece of sorts.  

Simple stitching - or what I like to call TV stitching.  This would be mostly basketweave that uses the painted image as an exact guideline to produce the image as close to the painted version as possible. I can stitch this type of piece while watching TV, hence the name. Here I don't want to be distracted by complex stitching, I just want to have a stitched piece that is an exact copy of the painted piece.

Artistic stitching - This style is meant to create a finished piece that is most appealing as a piece of art when completed.  My aim is not to show how advanced I am in stitching techniques, not to replicate the painting as accurately as possible, and not to make the piece into a snapshot of a very realistic scene.  Here I am aiming to bring a total result that is my artistic interpretation of the canvas.

The various categories are not being judged here in any way!  This is a personal choice, each stitch guide produced is how this person approaches the particular canvas.  I definitely am drawn to one approach, the Artistic stitching choice, but that's me, and it is in no way better than any other choice. The category I am drawn to guides how I make my stitch choices.  

Here, in my painted canvas of the Pheasant, I want the bird to clearly look like a pheasant, but not realistically so. I am interested in the overall beauty of the textures, of the way the fibers speak, of the interesting use of materials and at the end of how pleasing the result is to the onlooker.  I didn't use complicated stitches, I used interpretive stitches which allowed me to achieve an end result that strongly implied a Pheasant, but stayed true to the overall artistic approach.  

Do you have a favorite category?  Is the category you like stitching the same as the category you like gazing at? I'd love to hear from you!

  

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Doodling my way to a design.

So many times I've been asked how I start creating a new piece of needlepoint and it has forced me to go back and figure out what the process is. (I talk some about it on the podcast HERE). 

One of the ways I begin a new design comes from a new interest, or infatuation if it really gets bad. If you've seen my new pieces of jewelry you will see feathers coming into play.  I'm feeling them.  I'm fascinated with the elegance of those "hair" like things, actually called "barbs" and how they line up beautifully side by side.  How you can stroke them and they move and then fall right back into place. How each of them is colored and how together they make up a whole other color story. 

But the feather thing has also found it's way to my needlepoint.  At this point I'm doodling.  Looking for how I'd like to represent those feathers, what I think I can do with thread that will be a new way of expressing those amazing delicate creatures.  Because they may seem delicate, they may blow away in the wind, but they can do the most magical thing, they make a bird FLY!

A feather I used in one of my earrings

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Ultrasuede® is Ultra Cool

When you find something that works, you stick with it. Ultrasuede® is something that I love and that I can certainly attest to being one of the greatest fibers of today.

When something needs to be crafted for durability and softness, it's the first material I look for.  Having a fabric that is not only stain resistant but also comfortable - amazing! Could you imagine spilling red wine on your dress and not feeling like the world is coming to an end?  I love the freedom that you get with wearing this miracle fabric!

Another fantastic benefit of Ultrasuede® is the vegan-friendly aspect.  You get to wear all of the latest fashion trends without skipping a beat! Halston, Cynthia Rowley, and other high fashion designers have gotten rave reviews while using the material for outerwear in their collections. I've gotten creative and used Ultrasuede® in some of my tassel designs and love the movement and softness of it.

Click HERE for some of the tassel kits seen above!

I think everyone needs some Ultrasuede® in their life, don't you?

PS - back in 2008 TORAY, the company that manufacturers Ultrasuede®, asked me to contribute to their fashion catalog: how are designers using Ultrasuede®?  It was a great honor to be included among some prominent designers.  I contributed my choker, which is an intricate needlepoint piece embellished with beads, pearls and backed with none other than lovely Ultrasuede®. The second piece was what we called a "waistlet", i.e. a string of beads pearls and Ultrasuede®, and ending in tassels made of...  you guessed it, Ultrasuede®!!

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