Cutting & Stitching Edge

The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge – Stitch Therapy

by Mr X on 20 June 2013

Contemporary embroidery art via Mr X Stitch

Emma Parker, a.k.a. Stitch Therapy, is an embroidery artist from the UK.

“My work explores the darker and often hidden aspects of being human: fear, shame, abandonment, despair and the broken – with an occasional twist of humour added for sanity. I use discarded and worn materials in my work and see the act of making with them as a process of transformation and salvaging of the broken self.

“The use of thread and stitch helps me make connections and piece the broken together whilst the repetitive nature of hand sewing is a soothing rhythm, which nurtures and helps mend. In my work I often include fragments of narratives or imagery that may tell only part of a story, leaving it up to the viewer to find their own ending.”

There’s something quite thrilling about Emma’s work; a desperation and rawness that emphasises the brokenness of the work. Looking through her portfolio, I feel like I am reading the diaries of a madman, feeling the fear and excitement of work on the edge. It’s pretty powerful stuff.

Emma is hoping to study a Masters in Arts Psychotherapy and is seeking support with her funding. For more information, and to help her towards her goal, visit her IndieGoGo page.

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The Cutting & Stitching Edge is brought to you in association with PUSH: Stitchery, the must-have embroidered art book by Mr X Stitch !

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge – Mary Mazziotti

by Mr X on 13 June 2013

Contemporary embroidery art via Mr X Stitch Mary M. Mazziotti is an American visual artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whose practice includes painting and installation with a special interest in textiles. She exhibits at O. K. Harris Gallery in NYC and is represented by BE Galleries in Pittsburgh. Her work has been exhibited widely in galleries and museums including The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum, The Urban Institute for Contemporary Art and the Rundetaarne in Copenhagen. The artist has been selected for residencies in Spain, Italy, and Australia as well as throughout the United States. Ms. Mazziotti’s work has been featured and reviewed in Chicago Art Journal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and ArtNews. Mary has created a range of embroidered narratives featuring the exploits of Death, his wife, and other similarly gruesome subjects. “Memento Mori: A Day in the Life of Death - Twelve embroidered panels : image area 8” x 11” “These embroidered panels show our old friend Death going about his daily tasks. Whether he’s at work or play, kicking back or getting the job done, he’s just trying to get along like you and me! Death is not necessarily the menacing figure in the black hooded shroud with a scythe. Death might just be the guy next door or the woman in front of you at Starbucks. “Death’s Weekend – After a hard week at work, Death heads into Friday with hopes of a relaxing weekend. Just like you and me, he’s kicking back, getting his groove on, but also killing many people. This is a companion piece to “A Day in the Life of Death”. “The Rake’s Progress - Embroidery thread on muslin/ eight panels/each 13” x 10” “This is a contemporary take on the 18th century etchings by William Hogarth that followed Tom the Rake through his self-induced vicissitudes from gambling dens, brothels and, inevitably, to Bedlam. Here a Levi Johnson-like figure surrounds himself with sycophants, false friends, Nigerian computer scammers, and the ever present figure of his moral, spiritual and physical Death.” I really love Mary’s work. The simple illustrative style of the hand embroidery is charming and nostalgic, a perfect counterpart to the darkness of the subject matter. Mary’s work not only takes a light-hearted look at some of the darker characters in our mythology, but is critical of modern society at the same time.

Referencing Americana, Soviet propaganda, and historical literature, there is so much more to this work than meets the eye. It really is worth taking the time to visit Mary’s website, to read through the darkly comic narratives that she has created. I guarantee you will be left with a smile on your face.

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The Cutting & Stitching Edge is brought to you in association with PUSH: Stitchery, the must-have embroidered art book by Mr X Stitch !

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge – Tara Badcock

by Mr X on 6 June 2013

Contemporary embroidery art via Mr X Stitch
Tara Badcock is a Tasmanian (Australian), with a fine arts background who currently practices as a textile & installation artist specialising in hand embroidered sculptures & wall pieces.

“After spending three years living and working in Paris several years ago, Tara’s scope grew to encompass large embroidered curtains, cushions, clothing, bags & accessories under the umbrella of ‘Tara Badcock PARIS+TASMANIA’. These works combine freehand machine and hand embroidery to embed imagery into textiles.

Tara Badcock - Installation Views of 'Trousseau' (2013) Textile and Mixed Media sculpture for FELT PRESENCE exhibition,

Image copyright Devonport Regional Art Gallery.

“Through a combination of textile manipulation and stitching, Tara seeks to connect with deeply ingrained human traditions of communicating both grand and worldly ideas, as well as private and intimate concepts, rendered in cloth.

“Themes of beauty and utility, cultural identity, social and collective memory, and personal experience form the basis for individual pieces Tara creates from contemporary and antique fabrics and materials. Colonial Tasmanian history and the events in Revolutionary France are strong sources of inspiration within Tara’s arts practice, where historically, tension and discomfort provoked an honesty and intensity within an individual’s life- like following a thread through an ornate hand knotted piece of lace, these lives have been woven together inextricably to create our collective human past.

“Most recently Tara has been experimenting with appliqué leather to create pieces for a public art commission, depicting Tasmanian animals and plants on leather covered shapes for a childcare centre.

“Living in Paris with occasional pangs of homesickness also inspired Tara to embark on her Teacosy* Revolution project; the fabrication of an endless collection of sculptural and functional tea cosies, with accompanying Teacosy* Revolution Manifesto, part historical fiction, part photographic portraiture book- a longterm project which has temporarily been put on hold while Tara raises her first child with partner, Rainier.

“Tara’s work is also featured in a number of private and public collections globally, including the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery in Hobart, and UNESCOs Collection Permanent in Paris, and her hand embroidered silk rosettes feature as props in Baz Lurhman’s new rendition of ‘The Great Gatsby’ film.”

I really enjoy Tara’s work. There is a great breadth to her portfolio, encompassing textiles, machine and hand embroidery, and it’s nice to see a bit of cross stitch in there as well. The work has elegance, style and the connection to Tara’s history, expressed in the geo-political references in her work reminds us that most art is autobiographical.