We’ve been through some pretty challenging weather lately. In all kinds of ways and all kinds of fronts. Let’s take a pause.

We never know what’s ahead. But it’s changing. And – it’s spring: there’s more daylight every day.

Let’s let in some of our own light.

It’s in between weather. There are gaps in the white. Gaps in the earth color coming through.

The endless snow and white ground is giving way to the earth colors below. Earth colors: quiet and restful. A soft introduction to change.

Look for the light. As your eye shifts across the images, I’ve left – yes – gaps. Openings of incompletion. The light between the lines. The line left open.

Let me take a moment to share with you my love of line…:

It’s the first thing you learn in kindergarten, remember? How to stand in line. How to hold a pencil (is that still true?) to learn to draw a line.

Lines make letters. Line makes words. And line makes images.

The FIRST task: to really look and see what is there. It takes time and curiosity. The “childhood years”, I’ll call that period. You want to make images that are right. Obvious. Immediately recognizable.

Second step: start experimenting. Let’s test the boundaries: how far can I depart from what I’ve learned. “Teenage territory” right? I’m making my art my own. But I need to take you with me.

In my line embroideries, I choose a thread that is a little too thick to be exact. That means the line is already crude and at best, suggestive. My line is already challenging you.

But I also want to leave open spaces. I don’t connect the lines everywhere. I let in the light. For you to participate, complete. And enjoy.

Watch this progression in another piece:

You can already see it’s a figure, am I correct?

Now there’s a flurry of activity:

You already guessed it, right?

When you look at this, I’m guessing some lines you complete without noticing you do. Others are more difficult – this embroidery has a concentration of lines describing that exciting jumping. You see that without needing every detail.

I’m playing with perception. With the in between seeing and mind. With the moment of recognition.

Letting the light in.

Playing with hat light in between. For fun. For uplift.

“I prefer smell, honestly” – Peaches.

~~~~Share the light! :

notecards (3 of the same per pack) : salleyknightstudioonsquam.com. Enjoy!