The Observer

 For a long time I have wanted to use this space to tell the stories behind each of my art pieces. But there wasn't much art making going on to tell the story of due to most of my time being taken up with my return to college. I have finished that now, earned my bachelor's degree, and my art-making time has increased. I have even completed a few pieces of embroidery hoop art and so I will now tell the story of this hoop, which I am calling, "The Observer."

That there is me, with my art, including my face so you can see the artist behind the art, gathering up all my courage to do so because it makes me uncomfortable to put my face on the internet. Here is a better picture of the art itself.

I started stitching this piece in October of 2025. The idea was that I wanted to recreate a previous digital artwork of mine in embroidery.

I thought this particular piece would give me a good opportunity to practice layering several background fabrics at once. I've previously made pieces with layered fabric, but usually it's only two layers and this one required six layers. I had to figure out how to get all the pieces to stay where I wanted them to stay and how to make sure that the resulting bulk didn't make it impossible to close the embroidery hoop. 

I basted the layers into place and then used a wonky cross stitch to fully sew them together. I don't do cross-stitch, but I liked the way the lines looked as a row of little x's. 

And that was just about where things stopped. I set the piece aside and didn't pick it up again until March when I finally decided to add the sun. Five months she waited for me!

After that I dove in and started working on the swirls whenever I had some time to stitch. I decided to use different stitches for the swirls of each section and started off with a chain stitch (peachy-orange on purple) and then tried out a running stitch with alternating colors (magenta and purple on orange). Still, I was very nervous to add the girl because I didn't want to mess it up. I liked the way she looked in the digital art so much and I was worried I wouldn't be able to replicate that with floss.

But, bit by bit, she came along.

It was at this point that I started to think of this as a self portrait of sorts. She doesn't necessarily look like me, but I identify strongly with the way she's watching but not participating. I suppose it could be seen as creepy, but I prefer to think of her as blending into the background and observing. It's taken me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I am not a joiner; in large groups I very much tend toward quiet observation. That's what this art represents to me: quiet observation. This is not a quality that is prized in our society. But, here there is no judgement around the fact that she blends into the background. She isn't unhappy to be there. She fits into her environment naturally. She observes and thinks. And if you are paying attention, you will notice her. Sometimes the insights she's gleaned during her observations will surprise you. She's worth seeking out.

After this it was just a matter of adding the rest of the swirls, which I did with three additional stiches (whipped back stich, stem, and split), and then the rays of the sun.

Once that was done I wanted to add some gold details with diamante thread. I wove gold into each ray of sunshine plus into each of the chain stitches that made up the main part of the sun. Then I added a line of gold to the tops of each mountain and the top of the observer's head, as if the setting sun were casting its last rays of light at the top of each curve. Golden hour.

And with that, the piece was complete! Another thing I want to start doing is keeping track of how many hours I spend on a particular piece, but alas, I didn't think to do so with this one. If I had to guess I'd say maybe... 11 hours total? Anyway, she's all backed with a signed piece of craft felt and she'll be available in my shop by the end of today (6/2/26). I hope you like her!