Come see my embroidery work and meet the other talented graduates of MVCC's ThINCubator Artist Refinery mentorship program. 

July 12, 2023
5:30 - 7:30 pm
326 Broad St, Utica, NY
(Parking lot is in the back of the building)

FREE
Register here to attend.

As I received the news of the unprecedented and brutal attack on Ukraine, I struggled with what to do with my feelings of unease and horror at what the Ukrainian people are facing. Today I woke up and thought perhaps I could engage in a contemplative activity in which I could focus prayers and positive energies directed to all those who are and will be suffering gravely. So I spent the day today designing a cross-stitch pattern that I could practice contemplative stitching on.  I then thought I should share this by making it a kind of solidarity stitch-a-long and encouraging others to join me on this special stitch-a-long in honor of the Ukrainian people.

Why a cross-stitch design? 
The Ukrainian people have had a long, proud tradition of embroidery, and this small piece is inspired by traditional Ukrainian embroidery designs.

Based on Ukrainian tradition the symbols in this piece mean:
The cross = protection from evil.
The star = strength and serves as a protection from disease and evil.
The heart = love and harmony, and a united family.
The white dove (flying over heart) = peace.
The wavy lines = the stream of time and evolution.
The key/sigil = protection from negative influences.
The square = well-being, peace, and fortune. It also means perfection, harmony, and order. In the Ukrainian tradition, the square is the symbol of earth.

The colors also have meaning in the Ukrainian tradition:
Yellow = wellbeing, joy, and vital energy.
Blue = healing and spiritual calm, and it protects those who are most vulnerable.
Red =  life energy, love, and joy.
Black = the earth, wealth, and wellbeing.
White = innocence and purity.
Green = youth, beauty, and calm.

I have matched the yellow and blue threads to the official colors of the Ukrainian flag (see the thread color conversion chart below) by converting the official RGB colors to DMC thread colors. 

How to practice this Solidarity SAL:
This is a project that is meant to take slowly and with a particular focus. Here is how I practice this solidarity stitching: 

With each stitch, offer a prayer of strength and support, while reflecting on the challenges facing the Ukrainian people. Pause periodically, breathe and envision a world at peace and in harmony. Then continue infusing each stitch with strength and support.

When I stitch with black thread, I connect to the stability of the earth. With each stitch in red, I connect to life energy, love, and joy. With each stitch in yellow, I connect with wellbeing and vital energy. As I stitch the cross I focus on protecting the Ukrainian people from harm. And as I move on to stitch the star, I focus on protecting the Ukrainian people from negativity and evil.

This focused stitching takes a bit of energy, so I devote a short amount of time each day to it--but it also raises energy that I release into the world and in turn, send to all Ukrainian people all over the world.

Please share this pattern and encourage others to join in this special solidarity stitch-a-long. May we, together, through our creative forces, wake people up to the horrors that Ukrainian people face and to the truth of how fragile democracy among people can be. Through stitching may we all become stronger and closer together! (Note: I ask that you not use the pattern for personal gain. If you sell anything made from the pattern, please donate the money to support the Ukrainian people.)

You are welcome to join the One Point Mind Mystery SAL Facebook Group and share your process working on the Ukraine Solidarity SAL:
www.facebook.com/groups/opmmysterysal/

​May our creative energies guide the world to peace and harmony! 

​I decided that my next thread painting would be of a cecropia moth. So I have transferred a life-sized drawing of a female cecropia moth onto fabric and selected the color palette of threads. I chose this striking moth in honor of my unforgettable childhood experience of raising cecropia moths from egg to full-grown moth.
​
When I was about 12-13 years old my father came home from his overnight shift at the airport hanger with a cecropia moth--a huge, exquisitely beautiful creature with a wingspan of about 6 inches. I brought it into my room and watched it fly around and deposit hundreds of tiny pinkish-yellow eggs in various locations throughout my room. I collected the eggs and put them into an aquarium. The mother moth died a few hours after laying the eggs. I spent that summer raising dozens of caterpillars that hatched from the eggs. They started out as tiny black and fuzzy but rapidly outgrew the aquarium and my ability to feed them fast enough. Within a month of hatching, I had to move the caterpillars outside to lilacs and maple trees around my house. I continued to keep track of them and watch them grow into enormous fat brilliant green caterpillars nearly five inches long decorated with colorful spikes. At the end of the summer, they spun silky grey cocoons and remained attached to the tree branches through the winter. I was blessed the following spring by witnessing several of the cocoons split open to reveal marvelous, beautiful, huge cecropia moths! 
It was an experience from my childhood that I will never forget, and to this day cherish deeply. I am really looking forward to creating this thread painting!

To continue watching this piece as it develops you can become a monthly supporter through my patron site: ko-fi.com/onepointmind
From there I will share each days progress as well as share process and background information along the way. Thank you for your support!

Back in 2009, I was experimenting with loosening up my watercolor techniques. I enjoyed painting with lots of detail using ink and watercolor, but after many years of painting that way, I struggled with letting watercolor do what it did best: be spontaneous.  

I recalled learning some Asian brush techniques that utilized both ink and watercolor that utilized the spontaneous nature of the medium. The painting here is not true Asian spontaneous painting, it is actually a combination of the detail styled work I used to do and the spontaneous techniques. I suppose this could be considered a bridge piece, as I began to stretch and develop my painting skills. On an earilier, now defunct blog I posted my process, which I have shared below.

Prints of this painting can be ordered from my print-on-demand site: https://doan-art.pixels.com/featured/hawaiian-butterflyfish-antony-galbraith.html