Stitch Vocabulary by Bettina Matzkuhn

This workshop will introduce participants to five basic stitches and many ways they can be used to describe or enliven a surface. Mark-making with thread can involve varying density, thickness and types of lines. Evoke depth by paying close attention to colour, as well as the direction and forms of stitches. We will see examples of imagery that lends itself to embroidery, plus the stitches in action. Students can begin to plan a small embroidery and get feedback on how to proceed. Take a thread for a walk and see where it goes.

All materials are included in the ticket price.

Bettina Matzkuhn - Artist Statement

Fibre interests me as a visual language. Textiles have a long history of incorporating social and personal stories. I see my work as a part of this continuum. The versatile threads and textiles that I use form a vocabulary I have cultivated since childhood. I use it to speak of contemporary issues.

My work is about places I have encountered in person, and how the human presence –including mine– affects them. I grew up around sailboats on BC’s coast, and hike in many corners of Canada, which translates into a love of charts, maps, symbols, weather and landscape. My interest in local ecologies represents an ongoing learning and increasing alarm as the climate crisis intensifies.

I gather drawings, notes, newspaper clippings and diagrams in my sketchbooks along with photographs and test samples I make before and during the project itself. I have been fortunate to work with mentors from different disciplines such as sailmaking, meteorology and biology. Materials –from synthetics to recycled clothing to assorted threads– serve as my vocabulary and bring their own histories and connotations. I use a sewing machine as a construction tool, but hand embroidery lends itself best to extreme detail. Details allow me to convey an intimate sense of a place or a surface. The sheen, colours and textures of my materials convey opulence. I can think of nothing more opulent than the living world.

Host or Publisher Craft Council of BC