I have done sketches of iconic images, as well as drawings of personal photographs using this method. The pieces involving my personal photographs (Trying on Sunglasses with Mia & With Scott & Vanesa at Pink Pig) are an investigation in memory, mending, value, and labor. I am fortunate enough to have a very strong (nearly photographic) memory, and have no fear of forgetting everything with time. Yet I began to question myself when I realized that memories that seem so vivid are actually blurry at most moments in my mind, and while I can recount the sequence of events and many details, the image is degrading. I wanted to mend these memories, preserving them in some form.
By using free motion machine embroidery, I create a representation image that isn't exactly perfect, or too perfect in parts, representing the degradation of memory in relationship with the ideals of nostalgia. I am also interested in the value of memory, and by investing my time and labor, I believe that these pieces make the memory more valuable, as does displaying them in ornate frames and using gold thread. Yet by using free motion machine embroidery as compared to hand embroidery, I use less time, as my time is also valuable, and must be balanced.
More embroideries will be added here regularly as the personal photograph work is part of an ongoing investigation, possibly influencing my BFA thesis work to come.
