Fishy

After finishing the needlelace bag, I resurrected an embroidery I started years ago, in which I'd made some coral reef and what looked like a fish head using a piece of abalone shell, but I could never figure out where to go from there. It was looking at beading blogs and experimenting with bead embroidery that I found the answer - the fish's body could be beaded.


Here's a photo collage of reference books, sketch, started embroidery (top left, under the needlecase). There's also a started piece of needlelace that will eventually be coral, just the outlines couched down. I photographed the National Geographic book opened to the page that inspired this idea, as well as the dust jacket shown in the top right corner.


Here are pix of the piece in progress and the finished embroidery, which just needs to be mounted once I decide whether it will be a book cover or bag or wall art.

I started this piece while waiting patiently for the first of the month for Sharon Boggon's May Take It Further Challenge. I didn't even look up the challenge on the first of the month because I was so wrapped up in this beading. Next post will deal with that.

Meanwhile, here is another fishy piece that has been collaged and now awaits machine embroidery and bead embellishment.