LESSONS LEARNED

PUNCH NEEDLE EMBROIDERY PORTRAIT, 2009-2016

Making this piece was quite the challenge.  I started on it in 2008 or 2009 and got as far as completing the face, but then was waylaid by life.  It sat on a frame for another seven or eight years (!) and haunted me. 

Although I was determined to finish I was also intimidated, because while I was punching the forehead, the foundation suddenly collapsed and my needle plunged all the way through, leaving a large hole in the fabric. 

Yikes.  What to do?

What I did do was put it away for the next several years.  I couldn't fathom how to fix it because the spot was too tiny for a patch.  Finally about a month ago I took it up again and closely examined it, realizing that you couldn't really see the hole.

So I left it there and finished the piece, hole and all.

You have to look really hard to find the problem spot (though it probably cannot be seen in a photo; likely only in person).

Lesson #1:  Use the Right Materials

This was one of those major learning pieces.  Whether I like the end result or not--and I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it--I learned a ton from doing it.  For one thing, the foundation was the PITS.  I am guessing it was cotton muslin rather than the sturdy weaver's cloth normally used for punch needle embroidery, and that is why it collapsed.  It was sold to me as weaver's cloth; the lesson learned is to pay attention to my own instincts--it felt flimsy right from the start.  I should have listened to intuition and returned it or thrown it away.

Lesson #2:  Make Notes

Another lesson was to make notes, extensive notes, if I am going to put a piece away for awhile.  How many strands of embroidery floss had I been using?  How had I adjusted the length of my needle?  What exact shade should I use to continue?  Any other notes I need to make in case I don't get back to it for awhile?  I didn't do any of this and had to reconstruct everything when I started work on it again.

Lesson #3:  What Would You Do Differently Next Time?

A third lesson was in the use of values to convey visual planes.  I would do this quite differently now, but I needed to work through this portrait in order to learn that.

Lesson #4:  Revise!

And then there's the lesson that hair is hard to do well in embroidery.  Such a different format from pencil and paper!  A friend told me my initial efforts made the portrait look like a photo of Dilma Rouseff of Brazil.  She was right, and I had to rip out the "over-hair," but at least I was laughing as I did so.

I could go on...  In the end, it was a challenge but it was fun as well, and now I am eager to do some additional portraits.

"My nose isn't big. I just happen to have a very small head."

(Jimmy Durante)