Yesterday, we introduced you to textile artist Lorraine Turner. You got a peek at some of her finished work and learned a bit more about her inspirations and what drives her as a creative artist. If you missed that post, you can check it out here. Today, we’re excited to take a closer look at process… to see how Lorraine uses thread to bring these images to life. Thank you, Lorraine!
I use a different method for each one of my creations.
See You Soon – The leaves in the shrubs were thread-painted in leaflike shapes. (Check out Lorraine’s post here for more.)
Brilliance Afire & Pink Ice – For the horse and dragon I used different tones of the threads to capture the movement of the manes, as well as emphasizing the highlights and shadows. I thread-painted elongated patterns, always sure to criss-cross the threads in order for them to hold together after I soaked away the stabilizer. (Check out Lorraine’s post here for more.)
The Heart of Camargue – The flamingo feathers were made using a similar method, what I call Auri-Feathers — stitching feathers in arcs and keeping my reference image close by. I then snipped a few to overlap; pinned and stitched. I intentionally added them after the binding to “break the borders,” much like a watercolor vignette.
ABOUT LORRAINE
Website — Blog — Workshops — Facebook — Twitter — Instagram
As a young girl, motivational speaker and author/illustrator Lorraine Turner was told she would never make it as an artist yet went on to become a two-time Emmy winner for her work as one of the lead designers for a professional sports team in the US. The National Basketball Association’s Philadelphia 76ers.
Lorraine has created award winning children’s activity books and is a multiple Eisner Award Nominee in her role as Art Director for the Library of American Comics – a company she co-owns with her husband Dean Mullaney.
After surviving years of abuse she became a team leader for the first community Domestic Violence Response Team in New Jersey and helped the Attorney General’s Office form the police guidelines which are still being used today.
Lorraine uses her own life experiences and travels world-wide as a motivational speaker encouraging all ages from teens searching a career to seniors desiring adult education.
Today, with the help of meditation, she happily writes, illustrates, and teaches others to follow their dreams.
She is a living testimony to the power of moving thoughts into action.
*All images and text courtesy of Lorraine Turner (with exception to the intro!)
Lorraine you are wicked talented. I’m so excited to see your process and success. Many thanks for sharing it with all of us. It’s so inspiring!
Karen- Thank you very much! I am so happy you felt inspired and hopefully this will encourage others to forget the rules and GO PLAY with textiles:) Taking the time to post your comment has inspired ME! Thanks again:)
Thank you Karen. Inspiration is like wildfire and when it catches it is unstoppable. I am overjoyed by the response I am sensing from ALL of you wonderful people. This lifts my spirit and assures me I am on the right path:) — Lorraine
Amazing work – wow!
Thanks, your words mean so much, honestly it is generous of you to take the time to comment HUGE thanks! — Lorraine
I am in awe – the dragon is absolutely stunning!
Thank you Pamela, this was a commissioned piece and I was thrilled when she gave me complete artistic freedom. I have to tell you it was an adventure to say the least just trying to get down into textiles what I was seeing in my head! Thanks again! — Lorraine
Thank you Pamela, the only limit is our imagination! I am so happy you like the dragon. He was quite challenging, however
the gained knowledge was worth it:) — Lorraine
Your artistry is stunning! The colors really appeal to me. Wow!
Thank you Judy. If you look at the colors in your home and wardrobe, you will probably see you are drawn to specific shades. Simply tuning in to what YOU love and applying this to YOUR art will create something sensational! — Lorraine
Your art work is breath taking. Thank you for sharing your talents and “step-by-step” lessons. It’s amazing what one can do with thread and love of thread. Keep up the terrific work!
That is very kind of you Carolyn. “The Love of Thread,” now YOU have inspired me! I am amazed at the response and thrilled to have connected with creative people like you:) — Lorraine
Lorraine Turner — My husband has been working extended hours and I finally had a chance to share the article on “Brilliance Afire” with him. I just wanted to take the opportunity again to let you (and everyone else) know we are so pleased with how he turned out. He really is one-of-a-kind and quite different from your other fiber art. You are simply amazing and I cannot wait to “challenge” you with another journey. Although, you appear to be super busy these days holding webinars and on-site classes in the U.S. and abroad. I really love that you accept commission work, but are equally open to teaching and sharing your art. Your talent has no boundaries. Thank you again for this fabulous piece of artwork.
You are very welcome Marcia. Simply taking the time to post this, has encouraged me and I am deeply appreciative. I am a Harry Potter geek and creating this dragon was FUN and allowed me to PLAY with textiles like never before:) I think he’s even cast a magic spell in my art studio!
— Lorraine
Brilliant work! Must have an amazing stash. Congratulations and nice introduction too.
Thank you so much Julie! I do have quite a stash…who doesn’t??? lol I am so glad you liked the introduction, AURIFIL staff is brilliant, and very kind to artists:) Plus their threads aren’t too bad either:)
Those embroideries are amazing, much better than painting. Its texture is wonderful. Cant’s stop looking at color choice and color combination.”Jade”
Thank you very much Jade, I am having a blast just playing with color and textiles…NO RULES:)
Tu Arte en maravilloso, inspirador e increíble… hoy encontré este blog y es un Sueño….
siempre estoy en la búsqueda de hacer algo mejor , y hace poco entré en este mundo maravilloso del arte textil. estoy probando las técnicas… intentaré aplicar tu enseñanza. Te mando un enorme abrazo y cariños. Vivo en las Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina…
Thank you very much Criss. I am happy this inspired you. Hugs, Florida, America