17 December 2009

Buried in Freeform Peyote

Yay, finally a new post! Today I want to show you the progress of my beaded M1 Abrams main battle tank. I'm working on the shadow beneath the tank. This part started out slow, but now I think it's going okay. Check it out:

beaded camo camouflage print military Afghanistan fallen soldiers U.S. pop art war bead embroidery
I began by stitching a few rows of black seed beads around the edges and in between the canvas coffins on my shadow. Then, I started to expand upon those by doing a little freeform peyote stitch. I want to do just enough beadwork in between each coffin cutout to make them appear to be buried in the beadwork. The last time I did something like this was when I embedded the faces of WWII prisoners into my painting 'History Repeated'. One thing that is difficult about this is stitching through the canvas collage. I am trying to work a little slower than usual just so I don't break my beading needle! :o

beaded camo camouflage print military Afghanistan fallen soldiers U.S. pop art war bead embroiderySemi-beaded M1 Abrams main battle tank. Bead embroidery on f elt.
21" wide x 11" tall (53 x 30cm)

So far, I don't know if I really like what I am doing, but I'm not going to give up. I'm just going to continue with this concept and keep beading.. I have a feeling the results will surprise me. We'll see! :o
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3 comments:

31 everything said...

WOW! I was so impressed with this tank before - I'm even more impressed now that you are adding more to it. You're awesome!

Southern Belle said...

You, my friend, have got some major talent.

artandtea said...

I love everything about this bead project - the image, the beadwork, the message and meaning, the creativity. Amazing work. And I do love the title to this post!