Kris Campbell : Making Massive Cross Stitch Flowers

Today we meet Kris Campbell, a textile artist from New York state who has decided to take cross stitch to the absolute MAX! This is a fascinating story where we can see the threads of an artist's story come together in a body of work. In response to the global pandemic and the desire to make viewing art a safe experience, Kris decided to create a series of bold flowers, sewn in cross stitch.... on 11ft (4 metres) squares of construction debris netting. YES - that stuff they use to cloak buildings to protect passersby from falling construction debris! She creates translucent floral tapestries, featuring one large bold bloom and is making a rainbow of them. They are outdoor art, designed to viewed in a field, and Kris is also fascinated in whether they will actually survive out there and what happens as they age. As Kris says, "this is not your Grandmothers needlework!" Susan Weeks chats with Kris on this episode of Stitchery Stories textile art podcast. The challenge of creating art to be exhibited outdoors Using construction debris netting for her cross stitch Cross stitch on a massive scale Filling her studio with one piece of stitching Fighting the urge to use flowers as her subject matter This is 'socially distanced' textile art An exploration in failure Tapestries swaying gently in the wind Will her art survive the great outdoors? And if not... why not The hilarious subject of her first stitching adventure Byzantine paintings with golden domes and coloured mosaics are very inspiring for Kris Creating an entire body of work planned from the start The beauty of wool even though Kris doesn't like using it Choosing materials Best quote of the year... "only 40ft was stitched in 4 weeks" Creating a giant Pride rainbow of giant flowers designed to be experienced outside For this episode View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Kris's massive cross stitch flowers at https://www.stitcherystories.com/kriscampbell Visit: https://www.kriscampbellart.com/ Look: https://www.instagram.com/kriscampbellart Other Episodes We Mentioned: Jenni Dutton https://www.stitcherystories.com/jennidutton/ Phillipa Turnbull https://www.stitcherystories.com/phillipaturnbull/