Stitching in response to the stains and patches

Continuing the documentation of the processes behind the initial work I made leading up to my PhD project.

Following the staining on the folded shirt and the application of offcuts, I continued responding to the marks and textures by applying repetitive cross stitches.

This process considers the use of thread as a form of drawing medium on the fabric where the tonal variety is achieved through the accumulation of the stitches.

This process of applying thread around the stains somewhat resembles the logic of colouring books.

While I have experimented with stitches such as back stitch to delineate the stained sections of the surface, I predominantly feel inclined to use cross stitch. I have observed that the rhythmical movements of the hand associated with this stitch seem particularly conducive to immersion in the repetitive process which feels grounding. I feel that this is the case even more so because this free-form application of the stitches allows for the flow uninterrupted by any planning for the marks, such as is the case with the traditional application of cross stitch.