Slow Stitching

Well, gentle readers..

I took a few photos of the pieces 

that I am still working on for

my 

Slow Stitch String Book

Black Bean dyed cotton with bleached and over dyed sari silk.

which we will make on the next video..

Tea dyed and stitched cotton textile

one more video and then we are taking our summer 

vacation..

Tea dyed Khadi paper stitched with mono printed fabric

We had planned a trip to visit family to celebrate a birthday,

but that was cancelled..

due to Covid..

so very much has changed..

but stitching hasn't changed..

I can still rely on it

for it's curative

repairs.. 

Caterina Giglio, mixed media, slow stitching.

stitching,

centers me..

as the needle marries paper and fabrics..

 creating a path all its own.

moving gently on .. 

with no concern of where that pathway leads..

 the piece, 

or me..

I loose my attachments and just focus on this 

present moment..

my breath, a sip of tea..

and I make space for the 

the wonky and wabi sabi..

in myself and in my work.

 

A little string book will be perfect for imperfect pages

and will allow them to be worked on 

time and time again..

See you next week 

my dear readers..

be well and as always,

thank you..

Ciao, Ciao!

 

The Little Sampler Book

I have been quietly stitching..

when I have not been watering..

the yard and the plants..

We are in an epic dry spell..

this should be the rainy season..

which is often a pox in itself..

but lack of water means that our tall forests run the risk of fire..

So I hand water what I can since we have severe water restrictions...

I think I could fill the other tiny French Journals 

with these meditative stitches..

and I just might do that..

I love gathering unruly bits of hand dyed cloths and 

stitching them together..

when I listen gently..

they tell me which pieces go together..

like little playmates

drawn to one another..

So I stitch and think of rain..

and puddles..

and the garden flooding beautifully..

Now I have a place for them..

I will have to dream of a new body of work to

put them all to work..

Please take good care of yourselves..

We are home together..

wearing masks when we gather food..

and taking no chances..

I wish you all a healthy and happy week..

Ciao, Ciao!

May Art Journal Pages

People asked..

how many days have you been home?

How long has it been?

The days just pile up..

Caterina Giglio, May Art Journal Pages

the numbers increasing..

in cases, in deaths.. in the amount of time

we spend at home

and isolating..

I spend each morning in the garden..

connecting with the earth,

transplanting flowers,

cutting back the overachievers..

and weeding

which is a gardeners job security ...

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers....

being in the garden affords me

a sense of serenity and enchantment..

a dragonfly buzzes the spray from my hose

and I catch the magical copper shimmer of it's wings..

and suddenly the numbers all disappear ...

Caterina Giglio, detail May Art Journal Pages

The flower images are from

some recent mono prints that I made..

on book pages..

and the tiny stitches are on text from the 

Plague Doctor writings..

Caterina Giglio, detail from Art Journal Pages, May 2020

Ingredients: Mono Prints on book pages, antique ephemera, acrylic paints, colored pencil, red thread, stitches on paper, pencil

Caterina Giglio, Art Journal Page detail, May 2020

I have made a lot of mono prints

in the studio lately

practicing for the next video..

and making tiny stitches for my 

little French Journal 

so perhaps you will see those next time

I post..

Be well my gentle readers..

 

XOX

Book Cover Series-Mixed Media Collage

As you know gentle reader,

I have this

 major crush on black and gold..

and so this year I decided to create a 

holiday collection that emphasized that

 color scheme..

and paired them with 

antique botanical prints..

I also hand dyed a large piece of cloth and stitched it 

so that I could cut it up and use it in the backgrounds...

You can see it quite clearly in the background of this piece,

below

Send a Message of Love

There is something so enchanting..

isn't there?

about

repurposing old book covers..

and antique papers..

and it adds a sense of romance

to stitch

 tattered wedding veils..

and discarded petticoat lace..

to elevate not only the mundane, 

but the discarded..

forlorn and forgotten..

resurrection 

is 

beautiful

I will be putting the finishing touches on these 

and then wrapping them up

to ship

to 142 Bis Gallerie..

Because..

yes, 

my dears,

the holiday season is upon us..

See you Friday

for our 50th Vlog post..

and I will give you the answers to the 

5 Top Questions 

that everyone asks me on 

YouTube..

Ciao, ciao!