sewn sketch
Sewn sketch is a drawing made by a sewing machine’s stitch to a fabric or paper. Mostly black thread onto natural, off white canvas. The needle acts as a pencil and the canvas as the paper. Moving the paper underneath the pencil would create the sketch.
Sketches are fruits of free motion sewing, on blank canvas. mostly in one continuous line from start to end (one piece of thread). Machine sews only straight line so the canvas has to turn for every curve and change of direction. These limitations, I think, give the sketch its simpleness and even make my line a childish one sometimes.
The stitched line is a very innocent one. It is very thin, gentle and quiet. At the same time, it is never completely straight, its imperfection makes it very human. The stich is a product of old technology, it brings peace and slow rhythm from former era.
That’s why it’s so great to choose a rough subject to describe by stich: The huge dense city, skyscrapers and cement, pushing rhythm of life higher and faster and louder. A tank or M-16. Tension between the material and technic to the subject is great.
