The Correspondent

Reminiscent of photo albums, my portraits reveal people doing commonplace activities. While exploring family photos, I was attracted to an image of a young man, circa mid-1920s. As I drew his portrait, I began to imagine who he was, where he may have been, and what was his story?

Through hand and machine appliqué and careful fabric selection, The Correspondent’s personality, his surroundings and a sense of time and place emerged. For each part of his face and figure, intense, free-motion machine stitching was used to create detailed appliqués. These pieces, were then appliquéd to the previously stitched background. The layers of appliqué and thread give his portrait dimension, texture, and personality.

I create portraits ready for the storytelling. Each one: intricate, intriguing and saturated with color. From my drawings to the final stitch, I strove to tell the story of this young man. And an answer to the question: Why the camera?