Everyone has moments where there confidence is knocked or they are unsure of the direction they are pursuing. For me this piece reflects just that type of situation.
The project was a way to stoke the fire within my belly, and to relight the confidence and enthusiasm that was once there.
My plan for the piece was 31 pieces of material, each given out to individuals to stitch into however they like, with the only constraint to produce a certain letter, so as to make up the sentence Difficulty With Social Interaction.
The sewn pieces are like individual people and I like that I can see the differences of imagination, time, and care within the pieces.
On a personal level, for me the idea was to feel an achievement and to have overcome a barrier.
I had made it through those 31 social situations that had to arise in order for the work to be produced.
My initial decision to have the sentence Difficulty with Social Interaction, was because it made me smile, the irony of having achieved a piece based on community and get-togethers.
However the piece is still unfinished and with missing letters to me it looks like a game of hangman, it feels to literal. It just highlights that I did struggle and that I didn’t quite achieve what I set out to do.
Themes of interaction and engagement have reoccurred again within this piece, and like a lot of my work the idea to create a harmonic moment where people can sit, relax and share, was far more important than the sewn finished piece.
The sewing seemed to be there as a catalyst. By sitting and engaging with people through a medium such as embroidery I learnt so much. It’s this element of sharing I like, and a thread i want to continue working on.
