![]() At this time of year it seems people can get a little too close, pushing around others. ![]() People give you room, or else they might get snagged. Truth is, walking around shops with a bag of twigs on your shoulder is a good move, so I have discovered. The man smiles at me, just my little joke he says - branching out - just my little joke…. I am stood in a supermarket queue with a tote bag of twigs on my shoulder - I had forgotten for a moment about the twigs. You’re branching out, a man’s voice says and I turn my head to see. Quite possibly I will continue on my thread of folk-inspired as well as regal portraits…. I am keeping an open mind as to what or who will emerge in the tiny stitches. I look forward to creating a variety of embroidery pieces in the new year. I really like the trees and tiny supporting cast behind the figures in this piece. Here I use the idea but make it into a woman’s world of storytelling. ![]() Of course, the most obvious root to this idea would be Adam and Eve by the tree of life as seen in many old samplers and drawings. Photo: a piece titled Evergreen from 2018 - this composition of two figures by a tree is something I have reinvented several times. All of these influences have somehow come together over time to allow me to create my own folk. I wanted to draw ordinary yet extraordinary folk, inspired by painters like Bruegel, storybook illustrations, old manuscripts and cross stitch samplers. All I know is I was keen to stitch a full figure and one less grand than the many regal or ethereal portraits I often create. I’ve been looking back but cannot honestly remember the first one. I must have started stitching tiny whole figures with a folk-like appearance at least twelve years ago. It continues a tradition for me (just as the carol is a song of long tradition and not just for Christmas). Correct me if I am wrong in all of this!Īnyway, I enjoyed stitching this piece very much. There is blossom, green berry, red and then black as the berry withers - though the carol mixes the cycle up so that the berry is white, then green, then black then red. You might wonder why the berry is white - surely holly berries are red? I believe this refers to the cycle of the berry as it grows. Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk,Īnd Mary bore Jesus, all wrapped up in silk,Īnd Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be,Īnd the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly.Īnd the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly! The Holly Tree is inspired by the San Day carol, or Holly Tree carol, which I believe originated as a folk song in Cornwall. ![]() Photo: The Holly Tree - embroidery artwork (2023) In particular, I was happy to make time to stitch a piece with a Christmas mood - though it is, I hope, more generally wintry than absolutely Christmassy - I would like to think this piece may be enjoyed year round, of course. I was pleased to be able to show and sell (thank you) a final collection of embroidery pieces this past Wednesday. To complete the year I will be having a special archive sale on December 27th - a sale of artworks from the past and a few other ‘random’ things, different from the usual, one-offs and so on. This evening I will update my shop with a selection of tiny paintings and this will be my final pre-Christmas collection (update is at 7pm UK time). I am extremely grateful to be busy and am humbled, in a deep and joyful way, to have my work appreciated. It’s continued to be super-busy, as it often is at this time of year and I am not for a moment complaining. I had to take a break from writing last Sunday as it had been such a busy time. I hope you have been keeping well over the past few weeks. I could not have imagined a year ago, nursing my broken foot, I would be here in town, looking forward to a day of bustle and people watching. I was concerned about this yesterday evening and kept looking out the window to see if it had blown away in the windy weather. Just downstairs from me is a pop-up Santa’s grotto. It’s early in the morning and I can hear people arriving and setting up for today’s big Christmas market in town.
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