“ella” watercolor print

“milagros” embroidery portrait print, detail (limited edition run of 30)

collage notecards (bundle packs of 3)

milagros schmoll, thread drawing.

inspired by fashion week, i whipped up another design in embroidery threads.  fashion photography and portraits fascinate me to no end, perhaps because i love change and transformation and those mediums accommodate both.  with milagros, either walking down the runway with giant flowers in her cropped hair or standing right next to you, the young girl is even more beautiful in person.  (her name means “miracles.”)  p.s.  after tumbling upon a great photographer,  i just realized that a portrait i was particularly smitten with also happens to be her little sister. small world! (more…)

so i decided on a whim to walk into a nearby botones shop to start a new project and then realized that i had no craft vocabulary in spanish.  trying to explain embroidery thread, hoop, fabric, fabric dye, and needles to the unsuspecting man taking a siesta behind the counter was like a four year old talking to a polar bear.  (giggles) when there are fifty shades of verde hilo in the drawers behind the counter you learn to repeat: mas brillante tono, uhh…un color como esto (pointing at shirt) with lots of sign language and laughing.  

the shop looked just like this, but with black boxes and shelving.   gracias ole bear, you were as patient and obliging as could be.  freehand thread drawing in progress inspired by this week’s para ti magazine cover, i just couldn’t resist it at the newsstand.