The Wedding Sampler is Done

My daughter's wedding sampler is done!

 This is the 1Corinthians Wedding Sampler by Stoney Creek. As with most needlework, the photo can't capture what the piece actually looks like. For instance, both the doves and the bells look like they are the same white but they're not; the doves are the natural soft whites and grays you'd expect but the bells are stitched with a white metallic blending filament to look more like painted metal. The gold upper part of each bell is stitched with gold thread and iridescent pearl blending filament while the same gold thread is stitched with a gold blending filament to create the gold bands and clappers. Iridescent stitches are randomly placed in the greenery to look like dew drops. The two hearts on the top are stitched with the iridescent gold colors on the edges and then filled with gold metallic back stitched lines. The effect is a soft shimmer balanced with the matte of the roses and doves and is quite pleasing.

I recently went to see a Lichtenstein exhibit and realized how easily his work translated into photographs because it was, like the graphic art that inspired him, flat and uniformly finished. Really, when you've seen a good quality photo of his work you've pretty much seen the piece (though you should go to an exhibit if you can because his art really is fun). However, so many other artists make texture and finish so much a part of their work that even the best photo can't truly capture it. I remember the first time I saw Van Gogh's Starry Night. I'd seen that image all my life but the real piece was so alive in comparison. Needlework is like that too. While my piece is done in a uniform cross stitch, the gloss of the floss laid in uniformity contrasting with the gleam of the metallics against the matte of the fabric make a contrast that can't be well translated into a photograph.