Embroidered Eyes

It took a full year. My left shoulder was throbbing with a sharp, persistent sting all the way up my neck. But finish I did, and not one minute too soon. I drank a glass of cold milk and took the rare Aleve hoping to feel some relief for my aching body. The tiger tapestry was the ninth one in a series I started 8 years ago. They take me out of my head and allow my mind to relax while my fingers and eyes and creative imagination and self taught skill are tested for the patience and persistence required to work on and finish each project that takes anywhere from 8 months to a year or more. The exercise seems a perfect anti -dote to our daily complex digital lives. If the apocalypse hits, I already have a great way to occupy my leisure time in a very satisfying and creative way. The tapestries are also a nice way to both revisit and write poems and stories while my fingers are busy working the fabric and needle and threads. It is a most satisfying combination of the tactile and cerebral, although today and the days before that, my middle aged shoulder and neck seem to protest that harmonious arrangement. Thankfully, since our days in martial arts of rigorous black belt training a few years back, I know about the soothing properties of tiger balm for aching, overworked muscles. The tiger tapestry turned out well, considering I was not sure I would be able to draw the tiger successfully. I am very pleased with the expression of the eyes, which I considered to be essential to the rendering of the animal's mystique. Considering this was the first time I drew a tiger, and had to render it in thread and needle, the project turned out very well, without any technical mistakes, much to my relief. As with each project, there is a bond that develops between it and myself, a certain attachment that develops with the creation of something that requires such patience and the will to see it through. A part of me is with that tiger now, it is an intriguing feeling. But a part of me is also set free in the creation of the tiger, and that feels very good. My next project is a large sunflower, my model a photograph I took of one of our own large sunflowers we grow each year. To draw, whether it is with pencil or thread, requires you become in a way your project, in order to make it come alive. I love the connection that slowly develops with each challenge, from drawing the project onto the fabric, to choosing the colours, to handling the technical challenges. In the case of the tiger, the challenge came from bringing focus to the eyes, and accurately rendering the stripes around them. The face was the biggest challenge, including the eyes, as I was intent on rendering the tiger both realistically and accurately, while still allowing for artistic uniqueness. My aching shoulder and neck are testimony that this required effort both mentally and physically. But as exhausting as this creative marathon was, I already am anticipating the sunflower project, wondering what challenges it will bring that will both delight and puzzle me.