Who's Looking to Whom? by Toni Marie Fourte

In order to bring realism to the focal point of this piece, achieving a 3 dimensional "ruttiness" was the goal. Bullions, bullions, and more bullions coupled with French knots and tent stitch achieved this rutty visualization giving the tree 3 layers of depth and adding personality to its bark. Furthermore, bullions (arguably considered one of the more challenging needlepoint stitches) were strategically used to delineate the focal point’s facial outline and features.

In contrast, an irregular chain stitch and metallic thread were used on the prickly bush in the forefront to display its sinister nature. The other elements of this work were quieted by using backstitches and blending color changes to offset the tree’s loudness.

Extra care was given to insure that items in front of the tree were padded or stitched on top of the tree’s bark to respect the tree’s dimensionality. Additional care was taken to include the facial features in a manner such that the viewer may not see the focal point’s face at first glance. This hidden surprise was incorporated to have the exhibit/gallery viewer wonder if they are looking at the art work or if the artwork looking at them!?!