Sally Hewitt is a textile artist from Kent. She graduated from the Kent Institute of Art and Design in 2003 and has exhibited her work in various venues in the South and South East.

Sally explains her work: “My practice centres on bodies, ideas of beauty and ugliness and the conventions
that determine which is seen as which.  My medium is mainly stitching and embroidery.  I like the discordance between the medium and the content.

“I am interested in how we see things, how we interpret what we see and how my way of representing bodies might affect how that which is represented is seen – is it seen as ugly, beautiful or just funny?  Or none of those things?”

I find Sally’s work fascinating. She recreates elements of the body that are replete with insecurities, but by isolating them in hoops, they become tactile objects of desire. They are removed from the socio-political context that shapes our view of them, and we have a chance to consider them from an aesthetic perspective. I think they’re absorbing and they make me want to reach out and touch them.

Sally’s technique in these pieces is superb – the elegance of the pieces belies the technicality of their construction, and it’s clear that Sally is an adept crafter.

You can see more of Sally’s work on her website – I’m genuinely excited to see what she does next.

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.

Annie Aube is an artist from Palmer, Alaska. Her stitcheries explore mythologies and folklore.

Here’s what Annie has to say:  ”The artwork which has been my focus for the last few months and will continue to be my focus for the next year or two is embroidery based on the role of women in Mythology and Folklore.  I was inspired by my interest in religion and how it materially manifests itself in culture.  The reason that I chose embroidery as the vehicle for this theme is because embroidery has historically been a way of controlling women.

“I also like the idea of Embroidery which is anti-pretty because embroidery has been associated with images of pretty flowers for so long.  I like the irony of Embroidery which is gruesome.  This is one of the major reasons why I have chosen to embroidery as a medium, and chosen the scenes I have.  Most of the stories which I have chosen to embroider are obscure; I have for the most part stayed away from well known folktales.“

Annie’s stitcheries are charmingly macabre – she chooses characters from folklore that show the darker and more depraved side of the female character, and her research reveals story elements that have been glossed over by history. And Annie is not afraid to display these women in all their glory.

Annie has developed an extensive portfolio of these gruesome historical vignettes and has exhibited in the US and Japan. She is currently working on a series of pieces inspired by Red Riding Hood and I can’t wait to see what hidden stories she unearths. For more information visit her website or follow her on Facebook.

Aya Kakeda is a textile and performance artist from Brooklyn. In her own words, “she likes Cats, seals , and receiving postcards and she has ever changing weekly obsessions, now it’s Clavariaceae and star nosed mole. She also elaborates lots of theories about lot of things. When she doesn’t indulge in her obsessions she paints and draws, creating her own whimsical narratives. ”

I asked Aya about her inspiration: “My grandmother on my mother’s side was a tea ceremony teacher and she wore Kimono all the time, sometimes the Kimono maker would come to our house and opens rolls and rolls of beautiful textile to show her. I loved seeing the artistic pattern and textures of those rolls covering the Tatami of our tea ceremony room. My grandmother on my father’s side is a great craft maker, she would make dolls, wall decorations and quilts and send it to us for presents.

“So I was fascinated by textiles from early age, and also seeing those craft objects around growing up I have a sentimental attachments to these techniques.  I think this sentimental and sweet medium works with my dark and kind of scary narratives, I love the contrast between the medium and what it really says.”

Aya’s narratives include “the Adventures of 3 Children” who are a particularly mischievous bunch; her style of stitching is very cartoony and charming and contrasts nicely with the gruesome subject matter.

I find Aya’s work instantly pleasing – they are vignettes into a fully formed world that lives in Aya’s imagination. It’s a crazy place, and I wouldn’t want to be lost in there..!

Aya is extremely creative and I love seeing what goes on in her world. You can find out more about her on her website.

Nicola Searle is a textile student at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Nicola creates stitched maps that explore the geology and topography of continents. She explains:

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.

Those of you who know me will probably know that I am a fan of Roller Derby, not least because my wife, The Duchess, is one of the key players in the newly-formed MK Concrete Cows team. I think RD is a fantastic sport to watch, and by all accounts it’s a blast to play. So you will have to indulge me this week as I showcase the Roller Derby quilt.

“The Roller Derby Quilt is a collaborative project for roller derby skaters, refs, volunteers, and fans around the world. The goal is to get squares representing individuals and teams from every league worldwide. So far there are over 80 squares.”

The quilt is being curated by Dreadnought, from Boston. This is her statement about the quilt:

“This work is inspired by the community I have found since joining the Boston Derby Dames in the summer of 2007. I started the Roller Derby Quilt only a few months after becoming a “freshmeat” skater and I will continue it until I retire. It is a wall of collected cloth built from discarded uniform scraps, booty shorts, team jerseys, and shredded fishnets. It is filled with sweat and memories and a tiny bit of blood. The quilt was born from hundreds of hours’ worth of stitching, pinning, ripping, beading, ironing, and hand sewing. Over a hundred women (and a few men) have added their stories to the quilt by donating blocks, mailing me materials, and quilting sections to form the piece. Hundreds more have accepted my emails and forwarded them to their friends, teammates, and leagues.

“Those who are a part of the roller derby community may cross the pink lines and gently touch the quilt. These people are a part of the project and it belongs in their hands. Those who are not are encouraged to read The Game and to take a bout flyer so that they may discover the world that we in the derby community have built together.
This is my tribute to the sport that has changed my life, and continues to reshape me as I strap on my helmet three times a week. It is my love letter and my thank-you card, my archive and my record. This work is my monument to my family on eight wheels.”

There’s a massive amount of history about quilts being used to reflect communities, I’m sure we’ll have a post about them from Penny Nickels sometime soon, and it’s great to see the tradition being upheld in a contemporary context.

I think this is a terrific project and one that will leave a valuable legacy about a new community of sportspeople. For more information about the quilt, including the specifications for making your own patch, visit the Roller Derby quilt blog, and give Dreadnought some big love for a job well done!

Eliot BK is a mixed media artist from Berlin. He blends cross stitch with graphic art to great effect.

Eliot not only stitches, he draws, he paints, he beatboxes. He is one cool dude. He has previously exhibited a collection of embroidered works, featuring the tools of his trade.

As a cross stitcher myself, it’s really interesting to see Eliot’s approach to his work, which clearly comes from a graffiti standpoint.

There’s a looseness to the design and use of colour that intrigues me, and echoes the freeform approach that graffiti requires.

Not content with this cool collection of pieces, Eliot’s work has evolved to make more use of the canvas, and to incorporate other elements into the work. His new series of Embroidroids illustrates his development perfectly.

Similar to MimiLoveForever, a terrific amount of work and creativity is embedded onto the canvas before a single stitch is sewn. It’s a bold move, but Eliot pulls it off to great effect. There’s a real vibrancy and excitement about the work, and I think it perfectly reflects Eliot’s artistry.

Definitely someone to keep your eyes on, I’m excited to see what Eliot comes up with next.

You can find Eliot in different parts of the interwebs – his Flickr is a good place to see his work. As he would say “Voll! Super!”

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.

July is a busy month, especially when, like me, you are a professional wrestler, lumberjack and deep sea diver, so I’m making it easy for myself and just reflecting back on the terrific artists that have been featured in Edge posts so far this year. We’ve had some great artists in our previous two weeks’ posts, let’s see what happens now!

Robert Forman’s unique thread painting style was unlike anything I’d seen before:

Maria Pineres is the Saviour of Needlepoint and her work breathes life into this much-maligned stitchery:

Erin Endicott’s Healing Sutras were emotionally charged pieces of hand embroidery and surprisingly powerful:

Evelin Kasikov mixed typography and embroidery to great effect:

Clyde Olliver stitched on stone and slate – nuff said!

Joetta Maue’s work was filled with femininity and emotion, and as well as being a fine artist, Joetta also curated from the tongue…, a fantastic embroidery exhibition in New York that runs until August 6th.

Tamar Stone created a new Corset Book that merited it’s own post:

And Laura Amiss‘ wonderful free machine applique work put a smile on everyone’s faces.

What a year 2010 has been so far! There’s been such diversity in the works we’ve featured – if anyone doubted that embroidery and needlecraft are having a revival, we’ve got plenty of proof!

What have been your favourites?

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.

As I mentioned last week, I’m kinda busy at the moment, juggling my careers as brain surgeon, trapeze artist and international spy, so I’m taking a trip back over some of the fantastic stitchery that’s been featured in Cutting (& Stitching) Edge posts in 2010 so far. Last week’s post featured intergalactic quilts, animated cross stitch and repurposed needlepoint – who knows what we’ll see this time!

Raquel J. Alves created collages combining a range of textiles and a good dose of stitchery.

Peter Crawley stitched on paper – to put it mildly. I find myself admiring his architectural pieces to this day.

James Hunting combined technical excellence and artistic flair in his pieces…

… while Donna Sharrett produced beautiful mandalas incorporating found objects.

Luke Haynes blew me away with his amazing quilts…

As did Harriet Hammel with her remarkable soft sculptures – yes that is a kebab shop!

And Rosie James’ large free machine embroideries captured humans in their natural environment to great effect.

Such diversity! If anyone thinks that stitching is dull and uninteresting, give ‘em a slap upside the head – this stuff is magnificent. There’s still more to show you, so check back next week. In the meantime, I’ve got a trapeze to catch!

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.

My day job as a helicopter pilot, stuntman and ninja means that I’m a bit snowed under at the moment, so I’ve chosen to spend the next few Cutting (& Stitching) Edges looking back at the fantastic artists we’ve featured so far this year.

We started the year with Megan Canning and her education-styled biology and anatomy pieces – clever stuff!

The art quilts of Melanie Testa were next up – don’t forget you can buy her book and learn how to create your own quilty treasures!

Louise Riley was next, and I was fortunate to see her work for reals in the Beware of Embroidery exhibition.

Yin Xiuzhen amazed me with her Portable Cities…

… and Frederique Morrel twisted my melon with their repurposed needlepoint creations!

Niki Johnson gave us stitched bakeware featuring American icons…

And Jimmy McBride presented us with intergalactic quilts. Of course.

I fell in love with Lisa Connolly’s charming, yet edgy, girls…

And was enchanted by the animation from Maggie and Mildred.

It’s safe to say the year got off to a very good start! Check back next week for more reflections and more fantastic stitchery!

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.

Daniaelle Simonson is an artist from Los Angeles.

I contacted her to find out more about her stunning work: “My recent work explores the theme of animal fights. I see animals fighting their own kind as a metaphor for self-conflict. To capture the spirit of the fight and self-conflict I incorporated contrasting elements. The nature of the fight conveys a tense moment, chaotic and active. The abstracted shapes within the figures and the vibrant magazine paper capture the chaos. These elements contrast with the delicate fabric, thinly sewn lines, and calming negative space.”

“Nature and the soft materials I work with inspire me. The handmade aspect of my work compels me to explore new ways of manipulating fabric. I’m interested in discovering content within the properties of the materials I work with.”

Daniaelle’s work is fantastic. The animal fight pieces are filled with intensity and vitality, and the techniques used have an elegant simplicity but are delivered to the highest quality. A flashpoint of power and passion is captured, and fades before our eyes.

There is a sense of calm within most of Daniaelle’s work; the first piece of hers I came across was the one below, Atonement, and it took my breath away.

More of Daniaelle’s work can be seen on her website, and you can follow her exploits on her blog.

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.