mostly perceived as a craft and hobby nowadays, i love cross stitch in all of its permutations.
“covered bridge” & “red barn in winter” found in a junk shop recently was probably made from an embroidery kit. perhaps mid to later 20th c.
the v&a museum in london has this article pictured here are from 18c and 16c. a fascinating rabbit hole worth diving into.
the falls loves - elaine reichek who utilizes needlework as her medium currently on view at the whitney museum “making knowing: craft in art 1950-2019”
cross stitch has been around since people started embroidery, which has been around since fabric has been woven. – read more on the lord libidan blog which shows a timeline here.
which is where i stumbled across this piece by pow major alexis castagli, who made this cross stitch during his imprisonment in ww2, the piece was then displayed by the germans as a token of obedience, but major alexis had embroidered in morse code around the border – “god save the king” and “fuck hitler” article about it in the guardian here.
and lastly a peek at a project i am working on. stay tuned.
until next time
xox
the falls
