Perspective Study - El Gatito Negro & Stitches

 

This is a piece made for a perspective assignment in portfolio class at RMCAD. I wanted something quiet and somber yet touching. We had to use a robot if we wanted to do an indoor scene or a factory if it was an outdoor landscape. Of course, the little black cat showed up, and the robot turned out to be a little companion in a very sad transition. I plan on inking this but also got an idea of using various stitches to make an embroidery piece reminiscent of the "carpetas" that my grandma and great aunts made back in Mexico. 
I pulled out these books for inspiration. KBlue's Embroidery Stitch Book by Kim So Young (106 French Embroidery Stitch of K Blue 2017), Embroidered Botanicals by Yumiko Higuchi, and Stitches from the Garden by Kathy Schmitz 2016. 

In fact, I want to finally start (and finish) the Stitch book from the KBlue book. 

 

I've been wanting to learn different stitches and have taken a few classes from different teachers and methods, which I will list below, but have been waiting for a project of my own to practice.  

RSN Sampler course, Gimena Romero's courses, and Karen Turner. 

Gatito Negro y Las Monarcas - Repeat Pattern

As we creep closer to Halloween and Day of the Dead week, I have been posting images I worked on this year. This is a repeat pattern from El Gatito Negro y Las Monarcas by Nancy Cuevas (me). I will be posting more in the next few days. 

This time of year is bittersweet. It's my favorite season, but with it comes much grief. I lost my father almost six years ago, around this time of year. Losing him changed my life as it did my whole family. He was our rock, and without him, we have all had to reassess everything. It has led me to my recovery from taking on too much. I am very grateful, but I miss him so. 

Monarch butterflies symbolize the souls that return to Earth on All Souls Day - Day of the Dead. The life cycle of a Monarch butterfly is extraordinary. Their migration stretches months and vast distances to arrive at their breeding grounds in southern Mexico, Michoacan, where my family is from. 

Marigolds in the Aztec language Nahuatl are called Cempasúchil. Their sun god, Tonatiuh, gifted them to honor their dead. 

In many cultures, the black cat is considered bad luck, but for me, it's the solace of grief. The one that remembers because it knows what it is to be forgotten. 

Today, October 27th, is the day we honor our beloved pets that have passed on. 

El Viaje - Retablo

 

El Viaje by Nancy Cuevas Weimann, 2023

Guoache on tin panel

This piece is a self-portrait of my younger self. She is on a voyage of self-discovery with her companion, El Gatito Negro. 

In researching Retablos in my Mexican culture, I came across an art form that is so whimsical and tragic at the same time.  I have been working on my own version of gratitude using this wonderful way of illustrating life events. 

Wearing masks in many cultures represents protection with the attributes of the creature the mask portrays.