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Indigenous Art

Indigenous Art

Passion (left) and Antelope (right) are distinct examples of indigenous art by renowned Pueblo artist Awa Tsireh.

While there is no universally accepted definition of indigenous peoples; indigenous art often references the physical, spiritual, and intellectual realms and the connection to the four elements of wind, water, fire and air in nature.

There are thousands of indigenous art from cave art & art adorning other rock formations throughout the world to modern day interpretations of legends as with below Legends of Temlahan

Albert Namatjireh was an Australian artist, considered one of the first famous indigenous artist in the Western sense.

Navajo artist Anna Mae Barber was the eldest of the original five Burnham area pictorial weavers

Lawren Harris, one of the Famous Group of Seven - a group of Canadian landscape painters in the 1920's.

Roberta's differently but beautifully colored and stitched interpretation of Munthe's Daughers of the Northern Lights below. While Munthe painted Northern Lights in an Arts Nouveau style, his style was inspired by and based on old & indigenous Norwegian art.

Indigenous art inspires us to see with another's eye through weaving, masks, paintings, etching, & sculpture. Humans across the ages may have changed over epochs and yet the yearning to create, record and share; remains strong and often very beautiful.

Jan's beautifully stitched Peace on Earth (below)

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Give me a home where the sheep do roam

Give me a home where the sheep do roam

In February 2021, the rescue of a runaway Merino sheep gained international fame when it was found in the outskirts of Victoria, Australia with 35 kilograms (77 lbs!) of wool on its back. This extraordinary occurrence was simply the result of a lack of contact.

If Merinos are not sheared by humans, their fleece will continue to grow indefinitely. Picture on the left by Wendy Darker and immediately above is one of the various breeds of Merino sheep in full wool.

Why the fuss about merino?

Silk is a beautiful thread and  a lot of our canvases looks great with silk. Merino is also a wonderful choice. Creates depth or a layering effect to the canvas. Imagine the sheep on the right – Dressed for Winter by Two Can Art – soft merino wool/silk blend for the background in a quiet stitch such as the T Needlepoint Stitch.

The sheep in wool with short and long. then stitches to  create those wonderful curly cues between the scarf in the center bottom of his body.  

And that scarf! It has to be wool or wool/silk blend for a bit of a flatter look for those colorful designs. We love merino wool!

The first picture is a luscious blue from Essentials silk/merino wool blend, stitched in Nobuko.

You can always get all the Essentials you need separately at a discounted price and almost always have the choice between silk and silk/merino blend with our kits.  There are fewer color choices in Essentials line than the silks, so the design matters.

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The History of Needlework Motifs

The history of needlework motifs

This presentation is a one-hour study in the history of needlework motifs. It illuminates the origins of four ubiquitous motifs–the tree of life, the two-headed eagle, eight-pointed star, and the pomegranate. The presentation shows where stitchers in ages past embroidered these into clothes, household items and decorative and ceremonial objects. The motifs traveled on textiles around the globe and across the centuries. You will see stunningly beautiful examples of the embroidered motifs and their variations and you will take away the knowledge that motifs can help identify a piece of needlework, and in some cases, unlock its cultural meaning,

Presented by Laurie S. Kelly