Recently, I have begun a new body of work collaborating with my wonderful boyfriend, Brandon.  He does these fantastic cartoon character drawings, and has notebooks full of them.  Ever since the first time I saw them, I wanted to utilize his drawing technique in my artwork.  I can draw, but not like he can.  He draws figures with so much linear detail and and individual characteristics that each face he draws looks like they could have been drawn by different people.  I feel that this is a very unique gift that he has.  I know that all my drawings definitely look like they were drawn by me.  Maybe I've developed my own "style," but I also know that it is very difficult for me to draw in any other way...all my drawings have the same look to them.  I'll keep posting images of his drawings that I am translating into wearable objects so that you can see this variation.  

I have embroidered the drawings Brandon sketched on linen and stretched them over wooden frames.

After I get the stitched drawings mounted, I am creating fabricated frames out of copper to emphasize and highlight the embroidered image.  This photo is definitely in progress...it's the rough frame without patina or any details added.  

The combination of cartoon drawings, which are so easily reproduced typically through comic books and other printed material, and embroidery, a stereotypically feminine task that requires great time investment, is quite exciting to me.  In a way, it seems like a contradiction to take easily reproducible imagery and translate it into time-intensive handiwork and highlight the comic nature by creating a large-scale brooch.  I plan on creating elaborate frames for the pieces, this first one is just a test to work out the technical details.  I am excited about this new body of work, and will continue to post photos as the pieces develop!