May On The Edge Of The Cliff ATC Swap

 

What a lovely little swap theme this has been. The diversity, as always, is there with the interpretations of the themes; Puffins (both absolutely gorgeous!), cliffs, beach huts, lighthouses, tree swings, bird colonies, sediment layers... Just lovely. 

One of my favourite parts of this swap as a whole is that the ladies (sadly no men!! Come on chaps!) participating come from all over England and cover several counties. These ladies, as far as I know, have never met, yet they are united through this swap in sharing creative ideas and starting a postal conversation with the cards and occasionally on social media. I choose who gets a card from who, but everyone gets a card from someone new each time so it's more a case of working out who they haven't had a card from yet. 

Personally, I love building a collection of art with so much time, skill and thought put into it - if you were to purchase these cards at an exhibition or fair they should rightly cost you a lot of money and yet this mutual sharing of art costs no more than postage, envelopes and your own materials. I feel privileged that the participants are so willing to give up their time and artwork in this way with the rest of us. 

I'm disappointed in my photography of these cards, I'm afraid I was taking photos late on Monday night as the sun was going down and I thought that the evening sun would be enough but I think the slightly lower light with the paler cards and black balcony floor made for a tricky combination so they're a tad over-exposed which does not at all do the cards justice!

It's interesting how many of the cards look very similar. Having just said that the ladies have never met, and all they've had to go on is the theme title, and the couple of inspiration points I write for anyone who gets stuck, the two bottom right cards are very very similar in composition, just different personal styles, then the three middle cards are also quite similar with how they've been set out - although the one on the very right was more about the sediment layers and textures within cliffs so the focus is different in each one. Then of course there are two Puffins! Out of all of the sea birds. Aren't they lovely? So characterful. 

I love the interpretation above of the seabirds and their nests on the cliffs. Sitting birds on ledges as french knots and the diving and swooping birds looking like little arrows or bullets swooshing around next to the cliff. According to the back of the card, this is based on Bempton Cliffs RSPB Seabird Colony and, having had a quick google, it's very realistic! I've linked to it above if you are interested in having a look for yourself. 

This one is full of movement, don't you think? If it were a painting it would be quick slashes and splashes of paint with a loose movement to give the impression of crashing waves and rolling sea. I don't know you can make loose splashes of thread when you're stitching but the stitches themselves aren't pulled tight and they roll and move around each other with that slight looseness so you do get that movement, it's really wonderful. 

The textures in these sediment layers are also really lovely and this was very textural to the touch. I like how the different fibres have different widths and lustre, such an innovative way to add in the different colours in cliffs.

I think, although I'm not fully sure, that this amazing white cliff ATC is fully made with split stitch? The entire canvas is covered and there are so many colours in it!

I'll stop rambling and let you work through the rest of the cards yourself. Each one has so many different elements to it that you spot a new thing each time! What are your thoughts on this theme?

Jacquie's lighthouse below is the final card in the collection and the lighthouse motif was a cross stitch kit that spiked inspiration and got included in the card itself! It's interesting because I come across lots of people at shows and events, several of whom inform me that they "do embroidery, but they only do cross stitch". It implies that cross stitch is either on another level, or that it is a different medium that cannot be tampered with. I think in this case, combining a cross stitch piece with layered textures and machine stitch serves as a reminder that there is absolutely nothing stopping you from combining techniques and having a play!