Beth Emmott | artist

It’s Back!

February 4th, 2016

Picked up my machine today. All looks fine! Bob will fix a crack in the cover which he planned to do. This machine is so heavy, just carrying it—putting it away—is a trick and over the years the case has cracked. I love its being so heavy duty. I was able to sew the leather vest Bob is/was wearing many moons ago. The lining is long gone but the leather is like new.

Things from the sixties were made to last!

In my quest to buy the best leather I got REALLY heavy leather. This vest can stand up by it’s self! Sit on a hard bench and you can damage your arm pits as the leather stays straight! But sewing it was like sewing butter, well not really but you get the idea. So now it’s on to loops and circles and who knows what!

Sketching with Stitches

February 3rd, 2016

More pages from Dionne Swift’s sketchbook workshop. I’ve never used a sewing machine for drawing, especially on paper, but I hauled mine out and gave it a try. Sooooo much fun.

Sketchbook stitches.

My grandmother gave me this machine when I was first married and it’s been put to very good use. But this was it’s first adventure on paper. I spun the paper round and round making loops and circles. However I haven’t treated it as well as it has treated me and it needed a good overhaul. So, it is now at sewing machine heaven for the full spa treatment. Even if I were to get a new machine I would keep this. It is made of heavy metal and while not a professional machine it can sew through anything, from fine lace to heavy leather…and now paper. Can’t wait to get it back.

Sketchbook with circles

January 28th, 2016

Took a sketchbook workshop with Dionne Swift this month to jumpstart 2016. So much fun and down new roads… Theme was circles – encouraged to use lots of media, to write about circles, to revisit pages to just keep going.
Here are some cutouts that work with both the next page and the preceding page.

It was fun to just spend time without any direction, just working with circles and color and marks and materials.

Baskets

January 6th, 2016

Holidays are over. Seems like they start in mid November and run until school is about to start! And I don’t get to post during that time! Was straightening up and came across some images I took of some of my favorite baskets from my collection. Many of these particular baskets belonged to my Grandmother. Thought I’d share them!

Some of my handspun wool in natural color with these small sweet baskets. Some was spun on the contemporary drop spindle and other on my Ashford wheel.
The jar with the woven covering is resting on a blanket called in my family, “The Indian Blanket”. It is actually an old Pendleton Blanket which was probably a wedding gift to my grandparents in 1914, but it was much loved and saw it’s later years as a covering for lots of “forts” my brothers and I made. I still have it today. It is covered with many zig zag stitch repairs

Blanket fort with Curt and Senter. Why Curt is drilling the ground no one knows.

Love this little basket with it’s Japanese thread snips and the set of nested baskets. The ribbon is formed into a small bag to wear on one’s wrist and carry small sewing supplies.

Drawing candles

November 12th, 2015

Been trying to draw every day – so this week I chose Candle Sticks as a subject. Last week it was Bows and ribbons.

Ready to be scanned.

First I draw a study drawing to better understand the ins and outs of these candle sticks – then a second drawing with watercolor and ink. I’m trying to keep a loose sketch quality to them.

I have been scanning these and think they will end up in a repeat pattern.

Fragile Transitions

November 2nd, 2015

Love the bright fall colors but I find a special beauty in this later season.

Walked in the Wissahickon this morning, very damp, must have rained last night. The different colors of the trees as they change give a depth to the woods that is missing in the summer when they are all green – different greens but still they mass together, where as the reds, golds, and yellows, separate.

But these black leaves, still clinging to their branch looks like bronzed bats. The others are already on the trail yet still hold on to the remains of their individual colors. Tomorrow or later this week, that color will blend into tans. But this transitional stage of fragility is so poignant.