dorie millerson: drawing with thread

Dorie Millerson begins each piece by making a drawing inspired by an old family photograph.  Next, the artist transfers her drawing to fabric and outlines the image with stitches. But this is only the beginning – using the ancient technique of needlepoint lace, Millerson uses cotton sewing thread to fill the interior of the outline with stitches that add depth, color and texture to her subjects.

Bridge, detail

The final step in this process is to release the stitches from the fabric and suspend the piece to create large-scale shadows from the small-scale works.  The result is magical.  Even the names called out to me:  House, Bridge, Attachments…we can all relate.

Attachments, 2005, needlepoint lace, cotton

Attachments, detail

Bridge, 2006, needlepoint lace, cotton