Ever woke up craving a morning coffee and wanted to take up an activity that would just fill your every day? Yes, we too have been there, and that’s why we are hooked on embroidering. Once you are bit by the bug of embroidery, you will see embroidery as art. Trust us.
Similarly, contemporary embroidery art loosely follows a set of aesthetic guidelines, making it a personal hobby. That is what artistic pursuit should be, it should be about having a creative outlet. As a result, embroidery has evolved into an art.
After all, art is evolutionary. It is a profound concept that we will discuss in this article.
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How Best to Define Embroidery Art?
What better way to describe embroidery as art that utilizes patterns, textures, and techniques to tell stories? As a customer, don’t you feel overjoyed when you glide your palm over a new bag? Yes, it gives us shivers too.
Although contemporary embroidery art takes a non-linear path, as a budding embroidery artist you can take your work to the next level. Consider the following questions when you create a piece:
- What does my client want?
- What are their tastes and design preferences?
- How can I best serve their needs with my work?
Once you answer these questions, you become more aware of your design choices. Although art is often for the sake of art, when you create a work of art considerate of your client’s needs, you improve.
You may feel often that your embroidery is being criticized unfairly. But it is crucial not to take this feedback as a testament to your character. You can only improve by adapting to the various design preferences of your clients. But as a contemporary artist, you need to find your voice and heed the words of your client.
So, how can you approach embroidery in the most productive manner that ensures the completion of every product on schedule and reduces hiccups?
Explore What Is Embroidery Art
Your job as an embroidery artist is to offer exclusive, personalized work to your clients. By personalized, we mean something that stays true to your style but is also the closest interpretation of the client brief. For example, imagine you are a writer; you could not possibly write for your client in exactly the words he has requested.
As an artist, you will have to conform to different aesthetic requirements and let your ideas shine. As a contemporary embroidery artist, you will need insight into what truly defines your work. Here are a few ideas to work on embroidery as art:
- Create a style guide highlighting your design elements.
- Create a vocabulary of embroidery techniques. You can learn them here in this blog.
- Have a small product line that feel confident with.
Once you have a set of products that are unique but consistently designed, you are one step closer to becoming a selling artist.
Well, an artist needs to make a living, right? Interestingly, why embroidery resonates with so many people is because it is an art that feels nostalgic for both the creator and the customer.
How to Choose Your Influences?
There is a famed contemporary embroidery artist, Inge Jacobsen, who creates pop art versions of Vogue magazine covers. You too can make your embroidery look inspired by using good technique and great ideas. For instance, embroidering patterns based on the human anatomy is quite popular, and with a decent understanding of backstitching, you can kick-start your journey.
You can work your way up to more complicated designs once you have perfected a set of embroidery techniques. For example, you need to be able to shade to create landscapes, portraits, and other highly textured pieces. The ways to express yourself as an embroidery artist are endless.
You can start by learning how to stitch two pieces of fabric together in a blind stitch; this technique will form the basis of garment making. However, embroidery works on a ground weave and is slightly different, making stitching, in some ways, the precursor to it.
As discussed, shading is considered a form of cubism. Shading forms blocks of color, unlike graphite sketching where there is a continuous shift in the spectrum of light and dark elements. Therefore, one can associate embroidery with the discipline of sculpting.
For example, a satin stitch offers a satiny finish and is raised in nature. Also, if we look at a French knot, it creates the perfect construction of a flower. Furthermore, we can look into the applications of various stitches and how they can create basic geometrical elements like line segments and curves.
Embroidery has all the elements required to classify it as an art. But how do you see embroidery, as a hobby or an art form? Do go ahead and discuss in the comments below. We appreciate people contributing to our page in every possible way.
Embroidery as a Passion Project
It is clear that embroidery is a fun activity. But you can also serve varying tastes by following an aesthetic guideline. For this, remember to create a well-researched style guide. So, the question is will your skills thrive by learning from a proper guide?
The answer is yes, and if you are just starting, then you should check out embroidery that can inspire you to become better. By viewing different works of art, you can get inspired and inspire others!