Studio Series: Mennonitemare 4 textile

Mennonitemare 4 © Karen Thiessen

Mennonitemare 4 is a small hand-embroidered and machine-stitched textile, about 12 inches square. Some of the techniques, like stitching with felt, I developed while stitching my very first Day In Day Out (DIDO) project. The DIDO that professor Sarah Quinton assigned our Sheridan textiles class has been a massive influence on my studio practice, and on my life. It has shaped my thinking, making, and even my exercise.

Mennonitemare 4 detail © Karen Thiessen

When I look at Mennonitemare 4, I remember the satisfaction and pleasure of making it, and it makes me want to play with some of the techniques and images once again. If I do revisit it, I'll skip the metallic threads. They worked for this piece, but I'm not in that place anymore. One day I'd like to find silk embroidery floss and see how it behaves. In the meantime, DMC floss does the job.