In playing a game of “catch-up” or “catch-all,” here are images from the year 2020 of portraits where to varying degrees of styling and photographing embroidery/sewings– it’s by no means exhaustively catalogging all the things that passed through my hands this last year.
Possibly one of the saddest things about art/craft documentation is that you cannot examine the product, only the flat representation through the photograph. I think it’s important to acknowledge that some of these works are not practically finished, which I suppose is fine for fashion photography, but less suitable for say theatrical work where you would want something to stay positioned for over two hours with physical movement and look great from all angles.
I spent a lot of time in the land of “collar bib” which is some kind of statement piece “jewelry” that I really think is fun aesthetically, but I wouldn’t wear it to the grocery store. It’s some kind of outfit accessory that might suit a trip to Meow Wolf or an eccentric garden party, which is fine, but yeah, a little awkward because that currently isn’t my lifestyle, so it’s a bit aspirational like skinny jeans that are for when I lose 10 pounds, except it’s for when the world changes and I get some big break that allows me to travel and get invitations (or host) lovely art parties.
That being said, it felt very affirming to spend most of this last year in my “studio” aka my bedroom, living my best life with a needle in my hand, making soft and imaginative things. And I hope this year is a lot of the same, though albeit also different, but in the same vein of following my bliss.
Katarina Countiss 