an ongoing project

Published on January 10, 2010 in Inspiration and Knitting. 9 Comments Tags: , .

Yesterday afternoon, I got the urge to get my knitting out.  And I spent a lovely several hours sitting, knitting, and listening (mostly) to the Law and Order marathon on USA network.  I know…not the most relaxing thing I could have been listening to, but… there you are.  Unlike some folks, I simply can’t knit without watching what I’m doing, but yesterday, I found it very relaxing to …just sit and knit. :)

The sweater I’m working on is from an old issue of Vogue Knitting (1989, I believe), but cables never lose their fascination for me… so whether or not the sweater will be “in style” if when I finish it  just isn’t important.  I began it as an experiment to see if said pattern would actually fit me…  the knitting equivalent of a sewing “muslin” template.  Sort of.

Uh-huh.  I’m almost finished with the front and back pieces.  Only the sleeves to go!  At this rate, I should finish it in roughly another five years give or take. ;)  And then I can start it with the lovely white cotton yarn I  bought to the make it in the first place… that is, of course, assuming it even comes close to fitting me.  Heh.

Anyway!  The cable pattern is rewarding in itself. It reminds me of one of my favorite visual inspiration things: celtic knotwork.

a subjective analysis

Published on January 8, 2010 in Art. 9 Comments

Time to make an end on this one.

Did I accomplish what I set out to do?  To attempt to simplify a bit and try to get a more spontaneous feel to the drawing, in part by drawing the space around the subject?  Well… yes and no.

Simplification?  In some ways, yes… For example: I kept the leafy areas somewhat vague.  To make them as detailed as the flower heads would, I think, have taken attention away from where I wanted it to go.  And I allowed the outside edges of everything to sort of just fade out (vignette).  Depending more on cross-hatching forced some simplification just by the nature of the technique.  But, I’m still pretty heavy-handed on the detail side of things.

One of my drawing teachers once said that in order to successfully indicate or allude to something, you first must to be able to understand *and* draw it ALL.  Only then can you convincingly leave things out of a drawing, and they won’t be missed.  It was a figure drawing class, and we were learning to draw the skeleton underlying the model’s pose, but I believe the same principle applies to anything else.  I’m working on it. :)

As far as the spontaneous thing?  Uuuuhhh… I’d have to say not so much.  Please understand that I’m not ragging on myself, just realistically assessing the results in light of what I originally set out to do.  Perhaps my style of pen and ink drawing simply doesn’t lend itself to capturing “motion” or vitality, which is how I define spontaneity in a drawing.  I have to admit that the subject itself, for all of it’s curving lines and organic shapes, is rather static.  (Had I done it in charcoal, it would look *much* different!)

On the positive side however, I think that the darkened areas in behind the elements do add interest and serve to make the drawing much more engaging than if it had been simply a subject on a flat background.

Overall, a successful drawing?  For me: yes… because I learned quite a bit in the doing of it. But even more importantly, in the final analysis, if I enjoy looking at a piece of artwork… if it pleases my eye, it doesn’t really matter all that much  whether or not it’s fulfilled certain academic criteria.

How’s that for subjectivity? ;)

and so it grows

Published on January 6, 2010 in Art. 6 Comments

Pen and ink is a rather slow thing. (Not as slow as stitching, though!) ;)

In being careful not to overwork this piece,  I think I’m spending just about as much time pulling back and looking at it… squinting at it, actually… as I am making marks on the paper.  I do this to get an over-all feel for the balance of shadow and highlight as well as positive and negative space within the drawing.

Something that has helped me “step back” away from my work is that I’m no longer using magnifying glasses.  I was tending toward being “pulled into” the pen work, staying too close for too long, thereby losing my connection to seeing the work as a whole.

Compositionally, the drawing is unusual… because originally, it was going to be a crewel design.  As such, it lacks one focal point…instead, it has several.  Not really such a good thing.  Rather than one focal point where the eye is immediately drawn, it becomes very important to lead the beholder’s eye around within the artwork.  So, the light/dark, positive/negative aspects are more important than ever.  Will it be successful?  I don’t know yet.

Scanning the drawing and looking at it on the computer screen also gives me a better idea where areas need work/adjustment.  In the case of pen and ink, this can only mean going darker, not lighter; there is no erasing pen marks!  And I see some places where that needs to happen in order to balance out the very dark area next to the large flower on the left, especially.

But, at this point, I will probably continue to “flesh out” the rest of the drawing: finish indicating the remainder of the pencilled elements, and then carefully (sparingly) add the rest of the pen work.  After that, I will darken those areas that really need it.

And then I’ll decide if it’s a successful drawing…or not. :)

an intersection

Published on January 4, 2010 in Art and Needlework. 6 Comments

In college, I had several drawing classes.  And every instructor, without fail, pushed me outside my comfort zone.  One experience in particular I remember very vividly: On the first day of class, the instructor set a chair in the center of the room. (The drawing desks were arranged in a circle around the edge of the classroom, facing toward the center.)  Then she said to us: “Draw the space around the chair.”

“Huh???” was pretty much the response from every student in the room.  I can tell you that it was a totally new concept for me.  What an eye-opener!  It was the first time I’d ever tried to draw something that I knew was there, but couldn’t see.  With just that one class, the way I “saw” things was totally changed.  I could no longer look at an object and draw it without at least being aware of what surrounded it.

Anyway.  Drawing-wise, one of the things that I’ve been working on is trying to “loosen up”.  After years and years of designing for a grid, and also concentrating on a drawing style that is so intensely detailed, I find I’m needing to return to a place where not everything is so “perfect” and “planned”.  But yet, I love my pen and ink!  So, how to get a more spontaneous, fresher feel to my drawings, but still make use of the medium I love?  Draw, draw, draw!!

You may recall that I mentioned how much I enjoyed creating a crewel teaching piece awhile back.  I’m captivated by the flowing lines and fanciful floral motifs that are commonly used in “jacobean” embroidery.  While I haven’t actually stitched any crewel since I designed that piece, I haven’t stopped thinking about those wonderfully imaginative, yet organic shapes…

This is a section of a drawing I’m working on that combines looser pen work with those crewel motifs I find so pleasing, and an emphasis on the “space” surrounding them.  Another thing I’m experimenting with these days is adding a bit of gray ink wash to certain areas to further define shapes (so far, it’s been added to the large flower.)  I rather like the effect.

I know it still looks highly detailed…and in truth, I guess it is.  Baby steps, baby steps!

news for the new year

Published on December 31, 2009 in Needlework and Uncategorized. 14 Comments

Happy New Year!

A bit of news for this brand new year:

As many of you know, TW Designworks is officially closed.  But, it is still possible to acquire many of my designs… via PatternsOnLine.com.  This is not news; my patterns have been available through this service for several years.

What *is* news, however, is that I now have my very own designer portal on the PatternsOnLine.com website.  Please visit: The Teresa Wentzler Collection at POL.  This is the URL you should bookmark if you are interested in purchasing my designs as downloadable files through PatternsOnLine.

I am very excited to be able to continue to make my patterns available to stitchers.

There is one small issue, however, and I would be remiss not to mention it.  I am a dyed-in-the-wool Mac user.  I’ve always used a Mac, and have no plans to switch.  I know firsthand what it’s like not to be able to purchase something online simply because I use a Mac.  Unfortunately, not too long ago, PatternsOnLine found it necessary to discontinue support for their Mac pattern viewer; there was simply not enough demand to make the cost of maintaining/developing the Mac pattern viewer feasible.  Please, if you are a Mac user, and are interested in purchasing my designs via PatternsOnLine, don’t hesitate to contact me and/or POL and make your wishes known!  I will continue to lobby for the re-instatement of the Mac pattern viewer, and will forward each and every request I receive to the folks at POL.

Personally, 2009 has been quite a year!…full of changes and challenges… not always fun, but never boring!   I’m looking forward to seeing what the coming year will bring.

I wish all of you a happy and healthy 2010!

’shroom city

Published on December 29, 2009 in Inspiration. 3 Comments

I live in the country… in the mountains of north-central Pennsylvania. It’s a beautiful area, and I get a lot inspiration from it.  Almost daily, under the pretext of “getting some exercise”, I hike up the mountain directly behind our house, and bask in the quiet and familiar beauty of my surroundings.  Many times I am fortunate enough to catch glimpses of the abundant wildlife inhabiting the area, and I’ve gotten in the habit of carrying my camera with me.

But, while the fauna is amazing, so is the flora… and the fungi!  I came across this eye-popping colony of orange capped mushrooms one day this fall:

They were growing on a bank, on the remains of a rotting tree stump.  As I looked at it, I imagined a city perched on a cliff side inhabited by tiny faerie creatures… Then, as I looked closer, I realized that the colony formed a rather fantastic canopy over the opening of some small animal’s den… the bright orange bringing to mind nature’s equivalent of a neon sign!

still working on it

Published on December 28, 2009 in Uncategorized. 8 Comments

After upgrading to the newest version of WordPress, I was also able to install a new “theme” called (K2).  It allows for a bit more customization, but doesn’t require vast knowledge of things technical, which, in my case, is a huge plus.  I’m having fun experimenting with the new features…

I think the header is done.  I didn’t like the default positioning of the title and sub-title, so created an entirely new header image.  The overall “feel” of this theme is very simple: light and airy, so I wanted a header to compliment it.  It might be a bit on the pastel side for some tastes, but I’ll try it for awhile.

Thanks for your patience while I continue to tweak things…

How about a picture?  I often find inspiration in very simple things.  In this case, I love the contrast of the sun on these salmon pink geraniums against the snowy background. I have a very hard time allowing flowers I’ve kept safe from digging rodents during the summer (we have far too many squirrels and chipmunks!) to perish when the weather turns frosty.  So, if they are in relatively good condition, I bring them indoors and place them in south-facing windows for the winter.  These bloomed beautifully for Christmas…

changes

Published on December 27, 2009 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments

I’m working on a new look for the blog…  please pardon the mess!

Thank you

Published on November 14, 2009 in Needlework. 5 Comments

So many of you have sent e-mails, yuku messages, and have left comments on the “October” post…

I have been touched and encouraged by your stories, experiences and accomplishments… all shared out of your love of stitching!  I know that even though I won’t be involved professionally in needlework design anymore, that your enthusiasm for, dedication to, and love of the craft will continue to give you joy.

As you discover new designers’ work, make connections with new stitchers and continue to cultivate the friendships already established, may your fancy be delighted, your creative soul be nourished, and your skills be challenged through the new stitching adventures you will continue to find!

To each of you: Thank you for making possible a truly wonderful journey of creativity and discovery.  It has been an amazing experience, professionally and personally, and I am more thankful than I can ever express to have had the opportunity to share a bit of my “world” with you… through needle and thread!

Happy Stitching!  :)

October

Published on November 2, 2009 in Art, Needlework and Uncategorized. 52 Comments

Well.

October was an …ummm… interesting month.

A really nasty bug kept me home from the Creativ Festival in Toronto.  While I was severely bummed out about it, Jennifer and Erica (they both blogged about their experiences at the Festival) were able to heroically rescue the situation so that most classes were taught in my absence.  My grateful thanks to them both, and to the students who signed up for my classes!  A note to those who are waiting to receive the remainder of cancelled class kits: I am waiting for the official class lists to arrive from the show office.  As soon as I receive the lists, I will mail out your missing information!  Thanks for your patience!

After recuperating sufficiently from the above mentioned illness, the next task was my annual studio move into our house for the Winter.  While moving *out* of the studio space is not a happy occasion for me, I must admit, it went quite smoothly.  Nothing was dropped/broken, no muscles were overly strained, everything I moved *fit* into the space allocated, and the weather cooperated.  Practice makes perfect they do say. ;)

And then it became necessary to face something.

I’m good at putting off things I don’t *absolutely* HAVE to do immediately.  Procrastination is an art, and, I admit, I do it pretty well.  Thing is, I also am loathe to give up hope when there is the tiniest spark remaining that some “thing” could maybe work out after all.  Add to that the knowledge that I am going to disappoint people in the process of doing/facing the aforementioned “thing”, and I’ve got very good reasons for…well… not facing reality.

For several years, I’ve been able to successfully avoid making a decision about my business.  It’s limped along now for 5 of the last 11 years (TW Designworks came into being in November, 1998.)  Every year held *just enough* hope so that I could  talk myself into staying the course for *just one more* year… maybe next year will be better…

But this year has left no doubt.  The time has finally come:  TW Designworks will be closing.  Distributors are being notified that all TW Designworks patterns are now out-of-print (effective immediately).  An announcement has been posted on both the main needlework page of the website, and on the TWBB which gives basic information about the closure, and the resources that will still be available to stitchers.  It’s been a difficult decision, but one I could no longer avoid making.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and work with so many wonderful people in the needlework industry.  It has been an amazing journey to imagine and create needlework images for stitchers to enjoy.   Thank you for allowing me that honor for all of these years!  I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything. :)

Just because I won’t be designing needlework anymore doesn’t mean I’ll be disappearing!  My business might have bitten the dust, but my creativity hasn’t!  ;)  I’ll still be blogging, so drop by when the spirit moves you!