Donna Cutler ArtWorks in Fiber: WHAT??!!?? AGAIN???

Not possible! Two posts in one week. And maybe more to come. Good grief!

I've spent the last couple of days chained to my sewing machine, as usual, and have finished another piece. This past summer my husband Adrian and I were walking along the river bank and came across some terrific boulders. There were several of them clinging to the side of the slope and being rock lovers, we stopped to visit and took several photos. The contrast of the rock lying in a bed of flowers was just too beautiful. They all had good coverings of lichen as well. So, I decided that this would be one that I would stitch, and here it is.

After much thought, I've named this "Boulder in the Bedstraw". I had a hard time with a name - usually they just pop into my head, but not this time. I even googled "naming artwork" and found lots of good suggestions, like choosing a name based on what it is, or where it is, even what emotions you were feeling when you encountered it. So, going by these guidelines, I considered such things as "Rock", "On the river bank", "Boy, am I thirsty", but alas, none of these seemed quite right. I finally decided on "Boulder in the Bedstraw". It measures 10" x 8". This naming of art is hard work!

I have another piece that I haven't shown yet. The original photo for this was taken at Blackstrap this past summer on a glorious day as can only be experienced here on the prairies. It was hot, clear skies with a gentle breeze. What more could one ask for.

This then is The Summer Meadow. It measures 10" x 8" also and is framed.

I get a lot of questions about doing commissions for people and lately, have had a lot of interest in pet portraits. I do pet portraits and quite enjoy them. I work from photos (Fido just won't sit still!!). As for pricing, this generally ranges depending on the size of the finished piece. I can use one of your existing photos, assuming it will work well, or could come out and take my own photo. I've stitched dogs, cats and birds so far. These make great gifts and with Christmas coming up, it could be the answer to what to get good old Dad - beats socks every time! An example of one of my stitched pets is below:

This is Crystal and she measures 8" square. I did the eyes first by hand, and once they were satisfactory, I stitched the rest by machine. The picture used was one taken by Judy Wood, who does exceptionally good photos, especially critter photos. Crystal looked pretty much just like this, so I was quite proud of this one. Anyway, this is one pet portrait that I've done.

Crystal