#handandlock

The above image is my Final Piece, submitted as a Finalist for the Hand and Lock Embroidery “The Prize” 2017. I was amongst 5 other finalists in the ‘Hand Embroidery, Open Category” (aka, non-student!). Selected from a couple of hundred entries from round the world, down to six, I had some major ‘imposter syndrome’ feels! Despite being up against some unbelievable talent, and feeling extremely humbled to grace the Prize Giving with my work in November, I absolutely loved the WHOLE experience!

*MAKING FINAL TOUCHES BEFORE JUDGING*

Back in Easter 2017 I completed an entry for the prestigious Hand and Lock embroidery “The Prize” - an annual global competition with monetary winnings as well as internships and recognition. The previous year I also paid for entry, but sadly did not find the time to complete my entry after the end of third year, and immediately committed to next years entry!

You pay for your submission to enter your future work for consideration almost a year beforehand... (about £20-£30 depending on whether you are a student or not). I made the final deadline true to form- submitting my work at about 30 seconds to the 00.00 (midnight) mark (due to slow uploading, not poor time keeping on my part, OF COURSE....). I really enjoyed having an embroidery project that I could focus on whilst multitasking daily life and ‘the grind’ in London, and was feeling extremely happy just to have participated in the process of creating a project for an exciting brief set by an inspirational and renowned, historical establishment!

The brief was ‘Celebration’, (which I thought was fantastic with my recent multi-coloured colour palette of late!) Although I tried to refine my colour palette and steer in to more harmonious colours, I did seem to end up with another rainbow! My interpretation of the brief was that a global symbol of ‘Celebration’ that transcends cultural boundaries, was Food, and the Celebration of Life itself! I focussed specifically on fruit, because of the exotic qualities; abundance of health and nutrition benefits; sensational colours; and their symbolic presence to mark a multitude of occasions and meaningful landmarks (YES, including the apple in Adam and Eve....!)

I wanted to ‘glorify’ the beauty of fruit, and with the brief focussing on ‘gold work’ I felt that through making the fragile fruits ‘precious’ and also ‘durable’ by their material this would complement their perceived value. My mood-board was contemporary and couture....doing a lot of market research in shops such as Harrods (one of the many the benefits of living in London!) with an abstract feel that translated imagery in to material and process and technique; and ultimately just to be beautiful in colour, composition, layering and movement.

The choice of garment, and the way the embroidery decorates the shoulders enhanced the value and elegance of the piece; by ornately splaying across the shoulders- this elevated appearance is particularly regal.

With no prior embroidery training/ education or practise, this piece was extremely experimental and explorative for me. My creative process began with the moodboard; I created the artwork with materials in mind; then I sourced the materials that I would translate my marks in to on the fabric; and used the materials to inform how they entwined together and grew in to my final piece.

I used an appliqué approach, whereby I created units using repetitive pieces; and then created clusters using the units, and then created a composition using the clusters, with consideration of flow and the body and a degree of symmetry, but not complete symmetry.

I turned my tiny double bedroom in to my embroidery studio.... which was..... ‘box like’!!!...... and did an intensive stint of stitching in to the early hours for a couple of weeks (as well as by the pool on my pre-booked September Summer holiday) whilst doing a full time internship as a personal trainer and working in retail on the King’s Road (stereotypical cliche graduate textile-designer style!)

*FINISHING A SEWING SESSION BEFORE GOING TO WORK*

*(Not wanting to blow my own trumpet.... I found the embroidery process so exciting, and couldn’t get over that I had stitched this all myself by hand.....!)*

I somehow managed to make a garment (who said pattern cutting was hard ;) ......

And was lucky that my best friend managed to pretend that she actually liked my work whilst she modelled it for this photo!!!!

*THE OFFICIAL SUMMARY ON THE WEBSITE* http://handembroidery.com/the-prize/the-prize-2017/