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Let's Educate the Press
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Why is Chilly Hollow blog author Jane stomping mad? Click here and find out and follow her lead.
Send your comments and images to the press. Let's share our favorite needlepoint resources for Washington Post readers and editors - or just send them a picture of your completed needlepoint.
Thanks Chilly Hollow!
Satisfying Needlepoint Projects Drawing
Monday, March 21, 2011
We're having a Drawing!
Send us an email and share your most satisfying needlepoint project.
There will be three winners - three prizes.
win silk threads, a lovely needlepoint scissor, or a free canvas.
Here's one response just in!:
In response to your newsletter, I wanted to respond to the question of
my "most satisfying needlepoint project". This is easy, as I was just
thinking about it last night! I recently discovered your website and the
wonderful variety of canvases you offer. I have been doing needlepoint
for about 6 years, and I prefer painted canvas. Prior to finding your
site, I always worked on hand-painted (stitch painted) canvases. I was a
bit leary of trying a screen printed canvas but after purchasing some, I
really like the quality feel of the canvases. I am now working on my 1st
canvas that I purchased from you, "Angel" by Edward Burne-Jones. This is
probably the most difficult canvas I have ever done. The shading and the
detail were much different than what I was used to with a stitch painted
canvas. After some ado in getting started, I am now well into it and I
am having more fun with it than with any project I have ever done
before! So, last night, I was thinking about why that was and I realized
it is because it is not stitch painted! As I stitch the canvas, I have
to step back and take a look at the overall design and make decisions
about where to begin a stitch, or where to emphasize the shading for
instance. This makes the entire project more challenging, but also
involves me more in the creation of the project. I feel more connected
to the piece as art, rather than just filling in the blanks. It feels
more personal and there is more freedom in the creation process. This is
more than what I did before with choosing threads or stitches for each
area. I do not consider myself very creative, I usually feel resistance
and a "block" when I try and venture out of my comfort zone. But in
stitching your art in needlepoint canvases, and pushing myself just a
bit, I feel a whole new level of enjoyment in the stitching process.
Now, I don't want to stitch hand painted canvases any more! Solomae
Stoycoff
Another response just in!:
Hi! Love your newsletter! What a great way to start a Monday, getting to read the one found in the Inbox this morning.
I'd like to enter the drawing please!
Most
satisfying needlepoint project: Back in 1979, I started a large piece
from a kit, a relatively faithful rendition of one of the "Unicorn
Tapestry" works found in the museum in Paris France - the one that has
the lady playing the organ with the young lady assistant, lots of
flowers and flourishes, and animals. It was quite a stretch for me to
buy it back then, but something in me knew it was going to be
important. Little did I guess - LOL! Because of various life
circumstances and challenges, I only got to work on it in disperate bits
of time - but it was my one "go to" thing for respite and for
re-establishing a bit of sanity when I could find it no where else. It
took till this past January to finish it - some 31+ years - but it is
now finished, tho not yet stretched, etc.. It was with me and working
it played such an important part of my navigating illnesses and deaths
of friends and family members, a rock for me during the struggles to
keep a faltering marriage together, navigating all those dramas and
ultimately a divorce, then during my single days it was a steady friend
when I needed one (never felt lonely with that needle in my hand) -
through a new much more positive marriage and a move clear across the
country - and a whole host of my own physical challenges (including
Carpal Tunnel issues in both wrists), and across all manner of other
personal mileage -- and it STILL came out so relatively well in the end
"anyway". Satisfying in the working of it - and with all it represents
of my own being that's woven in among those threads, it's satisfying
even now in it's pre-framed state as well. It's wonderful to get to
talk about it like this! Thanks for that too.
Thanks for all you do! What a wonderful thing, needlepoint is.
Looking forward to keeping up with your newsletters and offerings! All
best wishes - Jan Pritchard
Happiness is a Stitch Guide
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
With regard to your Stitch Guide, Vol. I, I wanted to tell
you how I use it to full advantage. As I told you, long ago (hah) while
in my mid-twenties, I took needlepoint classes every Saturday for about
6 months, learning several stitches each weekend. From then until a
few years ago, many years passed without my stitching anything. When I
finally started again, I strictly used the Continental
Stitch........until the arrival of your on-line guide. I placed an icon
for it on the desktop of my laptop, which always resides on the table
next to my recliner. When I stitch these days, I simply open my
Stitching Guide and leave it on my laptop next to me. Whichever stitch I
may choose to use, it's opened right there.......I simply tap my
spacebar when I need to review a stitch, or want to find a different one
to use on my canvas. This is MUCH handier than a book and has made a
big difference, as far as my
willingness to try a different stitch for a different area on my
canvas.
Thank you for helping me get to this point.......my canvases will
be more interesting and challenging because of the stitch variations.
I'm looking forward to learning more stitches when you e-mail Volume II
to all your subscribers.
Sincerely,
Bonne Ledlow
Thank you Bonne for letting us know that The Art Needlepoint Company is in some small way helping you in your creative endeavors! We are thrilled that you are finding our Stitch Guide useful and we are honored that you wrote to tell us.
Here's an example from one of the pages of the Stitch Guide Volume I that Bonne is talking about. It's the Cashmere stitch
If you would like to see the suggestions on how to use the Cashmere stitch in a canvas, as well as the 21 other stitches included in volume I and have it emailed to you for free please contact us.
It will be sent free of charge if you have placed an order with us during the year.
Happy Stitching!
Japanese Block Prints Translated With Threads
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Among the various engaging exhibitions at the MFA in Boston this year,
Flowers and Festivals:
Four Seasons in Japanese Prints is a delightful experience.
January 22, 2011 - August 28, 2011
"Love of nature and awareness of the changing seasons, longstanding
motifs in the literary and visual arts of Japan, often appear in the
ukiyo-e woodblock prints that chronicle the life of the urban middle
class during the Edo period (1615-1867). As Japan gradually developed
the characteristics of an early modern society (just as Europe was doing
at around the same time), gardening became a pleasure not merely
limited to the aristocracy but enjoyed by commoners as well. Citizens of
Edo (modern Tokyo) could raise potted plants and miniature gardens at
home, and visit public gardens and commercial nurseries. Throughout the
year, holidays were celebrated with floral decorations and traditional
customs that have been handed down to the present day."
If you are interested in joining us for a class on reproducing beautiful wood block prints with silk threads onto canvas, call us to get more details and reserve your space
or leave a comment and a way to contact you.
Rebel in a Tahitian Paradise
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Unlike many of the French artists of his day, Paul Gauguin courted controversy. He's very often viewed as the "original Bad Boy" of modern art, from the clothes he wore to the images he painted. "Paul Gauguin's sumptuous, colorful images of Brittany and the islands of
the South Seas are some of the most appealing paintings in modern art".
Having left a job as a stockbroker to begin painting full time, he soon learned that painting was not lucrative enough to support his family. After his wife and children moved to her family in Copenhagen, his little understood art took a dramatic turn when he moved to Tahiti. Best known for his Tahiti settings and lush colors there is a different body of work in his prolific oeuvre. Many call it his dark side. Others see more complexity.
A new exhibit at the Washington National Gallery of Art "includes not only oil paintings but also pastels, prints, drawings,
sculpture, and decorated functional objects. Organized thematically,
the exhibition examines Gauguin's use of religious and mythological
symbols to tell stories, reinventing or appropriating narratives and
myths drawn both from his European cultural heritage and from Maori
legend".
Where do we come from, wehre are we, where are we going by Gauguin
"Gauguin: Maker of Myth", opens February 27 at the Washington National Gallery of Art.
Organized by Tate Modern, London, in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
How does one value their needlepoint?
Sunday, February 13, 2011
If we are lucky we meet one or two people in our lives who change and enrich them profoundly.
Allen Haskell, a preeminent
brilliant horticulturist, was for me, one of those people.
His talent, work and
influence was far-reaching. Horticulture was an art form rather than a
vocation. His genuis was to be rewarded throughout his life, winning
numerous awards and installations. Among his clients was Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis, who used his flowers to decorate the church at her
daughters wedding. He decorated gardens for museums worldwide, and when
Prince Charles and Princess Diana came to the White House they asked for
Allen. He counted many of high society and royalty in England as
clients and some as friends. Martha Stewart was a particularly close
friend.
During one visit I made
shortly after Ms. Stewart had come for lunch, to discuss an upcoming
program Allen was to be on, and to gather plant material for her CT
home, Allen asked me why I did the tedious work of needlepoint.
Evidently, he and Ms. Stewart had been talking about some things which
led him to his question to me.
Of course, I compared the
love and devotion he gave to his plants and design work to the care and
time I devoted to needlepoint. To know Allen and his wit and dry humor
and sometimes acerbic manner was to love him, warts and all. Though the
comparison did not sit well with him, our conversation ended with a
promise. He would provide me with one of his spectacular dahlias (same
that he sold to many royalty and celebrity customers) and I would stitch
it for him and present it to him as a gift once completed.
He received his needlepoint
gift in 2002. He died in 2004. I have been to his nursery grounds
since his passing and fully expect him to be around the next corner each
time I walk among the rows or gardens. Last month during a very
large snowstorm in New England I received a call from a board member of an organization Allen bequeathed my needlepoint
to and they called to ask would I mind giving them a value.
I must admit this was rather
surprising. First, I had no idea that Allen thought so much about this
piece to leave it in a will. Second, I don't consider myself an expert
stitcher and would never expect my work to be in public. I stitch for
me; for the pleasure of it or to have a useful something when
completed.
I have not answered this
question yet but it has brought to the fore a conversation that began
quite some time ago with various customers, needlepoint instructors, and
Elizabeth, the editor of Needlepoint Now.
How does one value their needlepoint?
Post your answers and be entered into a drawing for a free canvas.
By Doreen
A Dreamy Headboard in Progress
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Yes this is an ambitious project but think of all the wonderful nights of restful sleep under this gorgeous headboard:
Being stitched in wool threads by Susan B.
Voyssey - available as a Twin and Queen headboard.
Hieronymus Bosch
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) was born to a family of artists. Some of his work is fairly traditional, but he also painted some of the most imaginative fantasy scenes in the history of art. Many of this genre depict an other worldly environ filled with grotesque and sometimes horrifying creatures giving vivid form to the fear of Hell that so haunted the medieval mind.
a good short movie about his Earthly delights can be viewed here:
http://www.elboscomovie.com/index_en.html
Thank you Kelly Market!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Artist Anne Harwell's art experience is varied: designing china for the retail market,
painting ceramics, watercolors, gouaches, collages, acrylics, faux and
decorative painting and murals for both residential and commercial
clients. Whether it's making homemade magnets with funky designs or
stenciling someone's foyer, Anne enjoys it all!
Anne's canvases are a delight to stitch - and we thank Kelly Market for recognizing her talent and spreading the word!
Bask in the Bakst
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Léon Samoilovitch Bakst was born as Lev Rosenberg on May 10, 1866 in Grodno (currently Belarus) in a middle-class Jewish family. In 1899, he co-founded with Sergei Diaghilev the influential periodical World of Art. His graphics for the World of Art magazine brought him fame.In 1898 he showed his works in the Diaghilev-organized First exhibition of Russian and Finnish Artists; in World of Art exhibitions, as well as the Munich Secession, exhibitions of the Union of Russian Artists, etc.
Beginning in 1909 Bakst worked mostly as a stage-designer, designing sets for Greek tragedies, and in 1908 made a name as a scene-painter for Diaghilev with the Ballets Russes (Cleopatra (1909), Scheherazade (1910), Carnaval (1910), Narcisse (1911), Le Spectre de la rose (1911), Daphnis et Chloé (1912)). All that time he lived in Europe because as a Jew he did not have the right to live permanently outside the Pale of Settlement.
He was an easel painter as well as a portrait painter. An occasional teacher - Chagall was his most famous student.
A Ballet Seating Cube - The Magic Lives On!
Use this link to read more about this amazingly talented man. http://www.leon-bakst.com/
Let's Educate the Press
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Why is Chilly Hollow blog author Jane stomping mad? Click here and find out and follow her lead.
Send your comments and images to the press. Let's share our favorite needlepoint resources for Washington Post readers and editors - or just send them a picture of your completed needlepoint.
Thanks Chilly Hollow!
Send your comments and images to the press. Let's share our favorite needlepoint resources for Washington Post readers and editors - or just send them a picture of your completed needlepoint.
Thanks Chilly Hollow!
Satisfying Needlepoint Projects Drawing
Monday, March 21, 2011
We're having a Drawing!
Send us an email and share your most satisfying needlepoint project.
There will be three winners - three prizes.
win silk threads, a lovely needlepoint scissor, or a free canvas.
Here's one response just in!:
Send us an email and share your most satisfying needlepoint project.
There will be three winners - three prizes.
win silk threads, a lovely needlepoint scissor, or a free canvas.
Here's one response just in!:
In response to your newsletter, I wanted to respond to the question of my "most satisfying needlepoint project". This is easy, as I was just thinking about it last night! I recently discovered your website and the wonderful variety of canvases you offer. I have been doing needlepoint for about 6 years, and I prefer painted canvas. Prior to finding your site, I always worked on hand-painted (stitch painted) canvases. I was a bit leary of trying a screen printed canvas but after purchasing some, I really like the quality feel of the canvases. I am now working on my 1st canvas that I purchased from you, "Angel" by Edward Burne-Jones. This is probably the most difficult canvas I have ever done. The shading and the detail were much different than what I was used to with a stitch painted canvas. After some ado in getting started, I am now well into it and I am having more fun with it than with any project I have ever done before! So, last night, I was thinking about why that was and I realized it is because it is not stitch painted! As I stitch the canvas, I have to step back and take a look at the overall design and make decisions about where to begin a stitch, or where to emphasize the shading for instance. This makes the entire project more challenging, but also involves me more in the creation of the project. I feel more connected to the piece as art, rather than just filling in the blanks. It feels more personal and there is more freedom in the creation process. This is more than what I did before with choosing threads or stitches for each area. I do not consider myself very creative, I usually feel resistance and a "block" when I try and venture out of my comfort zone. But in stitching your art in needlepoint canvases, and pushing myself just a bit, I feel a whole new level of enjoyment in the stitching process. Now, I don't want to stitch hand painted canvases any more! Solomae Stoycoff
Another response just in!:
Hi! Love your newsletter! What a great way to start a Monday, getting to read the one found in the Inbox this morning.
I'd like to enter the drawing please!
Most satisfying needlepoint project: Back in 1979, I started a large piece from a kit, a relatively faithful rendition of one of the "Unicorn Tapestry" works found in the museum in Paris France - the one that has the lady playing the organ with the young lady assistant, lots of flowers and flourishes, and animals. It was quite a stretch for me to buy it back then, but something in me knew it was going to be important. Little did I guess - LOL! Because of various life circumstances and challenges, I only got to work on it in disperate bits of time - but it was my one "go to" thing for respite and for re-establishing a bit of sanity when I could find it no where else. It took till this past January to finish it - some 31+ years - but it is now finished, tho not yet stretched, etc.. It was with me and working it played such an important part of my navigating illnesses and deaths of friends and family members, a rock for me during the struggles to keep a faltering marriage together, navigating all those dramas and ultimately a divorce, then during my single days it was a steady friend when I needed one (never felt lonely with that needle in my hand) - through a new much more positive marriage and a move clear across the country - and a whole host of my own physical challenges (including Carpal Tunnel issues in both wrists), and across all manner of other personal mileage -- and it STILL came out so relatively well in the end "anyway". Satisfying in the working of it - and with all it represents of my own being that's woven in among those threads, it's satisfying even now in it's pre-framed state as well. It's wonderful to get to talk about it like this! Thanks for that too.
Thanks for all you do! What a wonderful thing, needlepoint is. Looking forward to keeping up with your newsletters and offerings! All best wishes - Jan Pritchard
I'd like to enter the drawing please!
Most satisfying needlepoint project: Back in 1979, I started a large piece from a kit, a relatively faithful rendition of one of the "Unicorn Tapestry" works found in the museum in Paris France - the one that has the lady playing the organ with the young lady assistant, lots of flowers and flourishes, and animals. It was quite a stretch for me to buy it back then, but something in me knew it was going to be important. Little did I guess - LOL! Because of various life circumstances and challenges, I only got to work on it in disperate bits of time - but it was my one "go to" thing for respite and for re-establishing a bit of sanity when I could find it no where else. It took till this past January to finish it - some 31+ years - but it is now finished, tho not yet stretched, etc.. It was with me and working it played such an important part of my navigating illnesses and deaths of friends and family members, a rock for me during the struggles to keep a faltering marriage together, navigating all those dramas and ultimately a divorce, then during my single days it was a steady friend when I needed one (never felt lonely with that needle in my hand) - through a new much more positive marriage and a move clear across the country - and a whole host of my own physical challenges (including Carpal Tunnel issues in both wrists), and across all manner of other personal mileage -- and it STILL came out so relatively well in the end "anyway". Satisfying in the working of it - and with all it represents of my own being that's woven in among those threads, it's satisfying even now in it's pre-framed state as well. It's wonderful to get to talk about it like this! Thanks for that too.
Thanks for all you do! What a wonderful thing, needlepoint is. Looking forward to keeping up with your newsletters and offerings! All best wishes - Jan Pritchard
Happiness is a Stitch Guide
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
With regard to your Stitch Guide, Vol. I, I wanted to tell
you how I use it to full advantage. As I told you, long ago (hah) while
in my mid-twenties, I took needlepoint classes every Saturday for about
6 months, learning several stitches each weekend. From then until a
few years ago, many years passed without my stitching anything. When I
finally started again, I strictly used the Continental
Stitch........until the arrival of your on-line guide. I placed an icon
for it on the desktop of my laptop, which always resides on the table
next to my recliner. When I stitch these days, I simply open my
Stitching Guide and leave it on my laptop next to me. Whichever stitch I
may choose to use, it's opened right there.......I simply tap my
spacebar when I need to review a stitch, or want to find a different one
to use on my canvas. This is MUCH handier than a book and has made a
big difference, as far as my
willingness to try a different stitch for a different area on my
canvas.
Thank you for helping me get to this point.......my canvases will
be more interesting and challenging because of the stitch variations.
I'm looking forward to learning more stitches when you e-mail Volume II
to all your subscribers.
Sincerely,
Bonne Ledlow
Thank you Bonne for letting us know that The Art Needlepoint Company is in some small way helping you in your creative endeavors! We are thrilled that you are finding our Stitch Guide useful and we are honored that you wrote to tell us.
Here's an example from one of the pages of the Stitch Guide Volume I that Bonne is talking about. It's the Cashmere stitch
If you would like to see the suggestions on how to use the Cashmere stitch in a canvas, as well as the 21 other stitches included in volume I and have it emailed to you for free please contact us.
It will be sent free of charge if you have placed an order with us during the year.
Happy Stitching!
Thank you Bonne for letting us know that The Art Needlepoint Company is in some small way helping you in your creative endeavors! We are thrilled that you are finding our Stitch Guide useful and we are honored that you wrote to tell us.
Here's an example from one of the pages of the Stitch Guide Volume I that Bonne is talking about. It's the Cashmere stitch
If you would like to see the suggestions on how to use the Cashmere stitch in a canvas, as well as the 21 other stitches included in volume I and have it emailed to you for free please contact us.
It will be sent free of charge if you have placed an order with us during the year.
Happy Stitching!
Japanese Block Prints Translated With Threads
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Among the various engaging exhibitions at the MFA in Boston this year,
Flowers and Festivals: Four Seasons in Japanese Prints is a delightful experience.
January 22, 2011 - August 28, 2011
"Love of nature and awareness of the changing seasons, longstanding motifs in the literary and visual arts of Japan, often appear in the ukiyo-e woodblock prints that chronicle the life of the urban middle class during the Edo period (1615-1867). As Japan gradually developed the characteristics of an early modern society (just as Europe was doing at around the same time), gardening became a pleasure not merely limited to the aristocracy but enjoyed by commoners as well. Citizens of Edo (modern Tokyo) could raise potted plants and miniature gardens at home, and visit public gardens and commercial nurseries. Throughout the year, holidays were celebrated with floral decorations and traditional customs that have been handed down to the present day."
If you are interested in joining us for a class on reproducing beautiful wood block prints with silk threads onto canvas, call us to get more details and reserve your space
or leave a comment and a way to contact you.
Flowers and Festivals: Four Seasons in Japanese Prints is a delightful experience.
January 22, 2011 - August 28, 2011
"Love of nature and awareness of the changing seasons, longstanding motifs in the literary and visual arts of Japan, often appear in the ukiyo-e woodblock prints that chronicle the life of the urban middle class during the Edo period (1615-1867). As Japan gradually developed the characteristics of an early modern society (just as Europe was doing at around the same time), gardening became a pleasure not merely limited to the aristocracy but enjoyed by commoners as well. Citizens of Edo (modern Tokyo) could raise potted plants and miniature gardens at home, and visit public gardens and commercial nurseries. Throughout the year, holidays were celebrated with floral decorations and traditional customs that have been handed down to the present day."
If you are interested in joining us for a class on reproducing beautiful wood block prints with silk threads onto canvas, call us to get more details and reserve your space
or leave a comment and a way to contact you.
Rebel in a Tahitian Paradise
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Unlike many of the French artists of his day, Paul Gauguin courted controversy. He's very often viewed as the "original Bad Boy" of modern art, from the clothes he wore to the images he painted. "Paul Gauguin's sumptuous, colorful images of Brittany and the islands of
the South Seas are some of the most appealing paintings in modern art".
Having left a job as a stockbroker to begin painting full time, he soon learned that painting was not lucrative enough to support his family. After his wife and children moved to her family in Copenhagen, his little understood art took a dramatic turn when he moved to Tahiti. Best known for his Tahiti settings and lush colors there is a different body of work in his prolific oeuvre. Many call it his dark side. Others see more complexity.
A new exhibit at the Washington National Gallery of Art "includes not only oil paintings but also pastels, prints, drawings, sculpture, and decorated functional objects. Organized thematically, the exhibition examines Gauguin's use of religious and mythological symbols to tell stories, reinventing or appropriating narratives and myths drawn both from his European cultural heritage and from Maori legend".
Where do we come from, wehre are we, where are we going by Gauguin
"Gauguin: Maker of Myth", opens February 27 at the Washington National Gallery of Art.
Organized by Tate Modern, London, in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Having left a job as a stockbroker to begin painting full time, he soon learned that painting was not lucrative enough to support his family. After his wife and children moved to her family in Copenhagen, his little understood art took a dramatic turn when he moved to Tahiti. Best known for his Tahiti settings and lush colors there is a different body of work in his prolific oeuvre. Many call it his dark side. Others see more complexity.
A new exhibit at the Washington National Gallery of Art "includes not only oil paintings but also pastels, prints, drawings, sculpture, and decorated functional objects. Organized thematically, the exhibition examines Gauguin's use of religious and mythological symbols to tell stories, reinventing or appropriating narratives and myths drawn both from his European cultural heritage and from Maori legend".
Where do we come from, wehre are we, where are we going by Gauguin
"Gauguin: Maker of Myth", opens February 27 at the Washington National Gallery of Art.
Organized by Tate Modern, London, in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
How does one value their needlepoint?
Sunday, February 13, 2011
If we are lucky we meet one or two people in our lives who change and enrich them profoundly.
Allen Haskell, a preeminent brilliant horticulturist, was for me, one of those people.
His talent, work and influence was far-reaching. Horticulture was an art form rather than a vocation. His genuis was to be rewarded throughout his life, winning numerous awards and installations. Among his clients was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who used his flowers to decorate the church at her daughters wedding. He decorated gardens for museums worldwide, and when Prince Charles and Princess Diana came to the White House they asked for Allen. He counted many of high society and royalty in England as clients and some as friends. Martha Stewart was a particularly close friend.
During one visit I made shortly after Ms. Stewart had come for lunch, to discuss an upcoming program Allen was to be on, and to gather plant material for her CT home, Allen asked me why I did the tedious work of needlepoint. Evidently, he and Ms. Stewart had been talking about some things which led him to his question to me.
Of course, I compared the love and devotion he gave to his plants and design work to the care and time I devoted to needlepoint. To know Allen and his wit and dry humor and sometimes acerbic manner was to love him, warts and all. Though the comparison did not sit well with him, our conversation ended with a promise. He would provide me with one of his spectacular dahlias (same that he sold to many royalty and celebrity customers) and I would stitch it for him and present it to him as a gift once completed.
He received his needlepoint gift in 2002. He died in 2004. I have been to his nursery grounds since his passing and fully expect him to be around the next corner each time I walk among the rows or gardens. Last month during a very large snowstorm in New England I received a call from a board member of an organization Allen bequeathed my needlepoint to and they called to ask would I mind giving them a value.
I must admit this was rather surprising. First, I had no idea that Allen thought so much about this piece to leave it in a will. Second, I don't consider myself an expert stitcher and would never expect my work to be in public. I stitch for me; for the pleasure of it or to have a useful something when completed.
I have not answered this question yet but it has brought to the fore a conversation that began quite some time ago with various customers, needlepoint instructors, and Elizabeth, the editor of Needlepoint Now.
How does one value their needlepoint?
Post your answers and be entered into a drawing for a free canvas.
By Doreen
Allen Haskell, a preeminent brilliant horticulturist, was for me, one of those people.
His talent, work and influence was far-reaching. Horticulture was an art form rather than a vocation. His genuis was to be rewarded throughout his life, winning numerous awards and installations. Among his clients was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who used his flowers to decorate the church at her daughters wedding. He decorated gardens for museums worldwide, and when Prince Charles and Princess Diana came to the White House they asked for Allen. He counted many of high society and royalty in England as clients and some as friends. Martha Stewart was a particularly close friend.
During one visit I made shortly after Ms. Stewart had come for lunch, to discuss an upcoming program Allen was to be on, and to gather plant material for her CT home, Allen asked me why I did the tedious work of needlepoint. Evidently, he and Ms. Stewart had been talking about some things which led him to his question to me.
Of course, I compared the love and devotion he gave to his plants and design work to the care and time I devoted to needlepoint. To know Allen and his wit and dry humor and sometimes acerbic manner was to love him, warts and all. Though the comparison did not sit well with him, our conversation ended with a promise. He would provide me with one of his spectacular dahlias (same that he sold to many royalty and celebrity customers) and I would stitch it for him and present it to him as a gift once completed.
He received his needlepoint gift in 2002. He died in 2004. I have been to his nursery grounds since his passing and fully expect him to be around the next corner each time I walk among the rows or gardens. Last month during a very large snowstorm in New England I received a call from a board member of an organization Allen bequeathed my needlepoint to and they called to ask would I mind giving them a value.
I must admit this was rather surprising. First, I had no idea that Allen thought so much about this piece to leave it in a will. Second, I don't consider myself an expert stitcher and would never expect my work to be in public. I stitch for me; for the pleasure of it or to have a useful something when completed.
I have not answered this question yet but it has brought to the fore a conversation that began quite some time ago with various customers, needlepoint instructors, and Elizabeth, the editor of Needlepoint Now.
How does one value their needlepoint?
Post your answers and be entered into a drawing for a free canvas.
By Doreen
A Dreamy Headboard in Progress
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Yes this is an ambitious project but think of all the wonderful nights of restful sleep under this gorgeous headboard:
Being stitched in wool threads by Susan B.
Voyssey - available as a Twin and Queen headboard.
Being stitched in wool threads by Susan B.
Voyssey - available as a Twin and Queen headboard.
Hieronymus Bosch
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) was born to a family of artists. Some of his work is fairly traditional, but he also painted some of the most imaginative fantasy scenes in the history of art. Many of this genre depict an other worldly environ filled with grotesque and sometimes horrifying creatures giving vivid form to the fear of Hell that so haunted the medieval mind.
a good short movie about his Earthly delights can be viewed here:
http://www.elboscomovie.com/index_en.html
a good short movie about his Earthly delights can be viewed here:
http://www.elboscomovie.com/index_en.html
Thank you Kelly Market!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Artist Anne Harwell's art experience is varied: designing china for the retail market,
painting ceramics, watercolors, gouaches, collages, acrylics, faux and
decorative painting and murals for both residential and commercial
clients. Whether it's making homemade magnets with funky designs or
stenciling someone's foyer, Anne enjoys it all!
Anne's canvases are a delight to stitch - and we thank Kelly Market for recognizing her talent and spreading the word!
Anne's canvases are a delight to stitch - and we thank Kelly Market for recognizing her talent and spreading the word!
Bask in the Bakst
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Léon Samoilovitch Bakst was born as Lev Rosenberg on May 10, 1866 in Grodno (currently Belarus) in a middle-class Jewish family. In 1899, he co-founded with Sergei Diaghilev the influential periodical World of Art. His graphics for the World of Art magazine brought him fame.In 1898 he showed his works in the Diaghilev-organized First exhibition of Russian and Finnish Artists; in World of Art exhibitions, as well as the Munich Secession, exhibitions of the Union of Russian Artists, etc.
Beginning in 1909 Bakst worked mostly as a stage-designer, designing sets for Greek tragedies, and in 1908 made a name as a scene-painter for Diaghilev with the Ballets Russes (Cleopatra (1909), Scheherazade (1910), Carnaval (1910), Narcisse (1911), Le Spectre de la rose (1911), Daphnis et Chloé (1912)). All that time he lived in Europe because as a Jew he did not have the right to live permanently outside the Pale of Settlement.
He was an easel painter as well as a portrait painter. An occasional teacher - Chagall was his most famous student.
A Ballet Seating Cube - The Magic Lives On!
Use this link to read more about this amazingly talented man. http://www.leon-bakst.com/
Beginning in 1909 Bakst worked mostly as a stage-designer, designing sets for Greek tragedies, and in 1908 made a name as a scene-painter for Diaghilev with the Ballets Russes (Cleopatra (1909), Scheherazade (1910), Carnaval (1910), Narcisse (1911), Le Spectre de la rose (1911), Daphnis et Chloé (1912)). All that time he lived in Europe because as a Jew he did not have the right to live permanently outside the Pale of Settlement.
He was an easel painter as well as a portrait painter. An occasional teacher - Chagall was his most famous student.
A Ballet Seating Cube - The Magic Lives On!
Use this link to read more about this amazingly talented man. http://www.leon-bakst.com/
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