The Head of Nefertiti, Embellished with Silk and Gold
Screenprint of the Head of Nefertiti
This is much the best print I’ve managed of Nefertiti, pressure, speed and amount of ink all working nicely, and very few really dark sections. What I want to do now is to highlight the coloured elements of the crown she wears – unique to her, apparently, no-one else in ancient Egypt has ever been depicted wearing it. I’ve got some gorgeous silk threads from Mulberry Silks which should do the job perfectly, but first they need a skeleton of gold. I had a lovely rummage in among the assorted wonders I’ve received from Thistle Threads (they have their own special box, of course), and after staring critically at the linen fabric, picked out the Special Tambour, and made a start.
My idea is to create a framework of Ladder Stitch, and then add colour – as in the Tudor Rose project – using silk threads. Long term readers may recall that during the Tudor and Stuart Goldwork Masterclass, I had some trouble with Ladder stitch, so although I was fairly sure the idea would work, I sat down with some trepidation.
To be very pleasantly surprised. Something has happened in the intervening few years, and my ladder stitch wasn’t as trying as I expected, and moved fairly swiftly, too. I may yet decide to redo the stitches, because I re-tightened the fabric in the frame about halfway across, but that will depend upon how much better the second section looks when I have done it.
That’s a good start to a new project, isn’t it!
This one is going to be beautiful – gilding the lily, of course, but she is a lily worth gilding!
I know I always say it …….. I am looking forward to seeing more!
I like this idea! It will be interesting to see how it looks once you start adding the colour
Oh this is going to definitely be suited to a queen!!! I am looking forward to seeing the stitches as they grow.
Looking good. The first step is always tentative but I think this will be fabulous.
Ooo – looking lovely!
How exciting! There’s something about starting a new project. I love Mulberry Silks too. Can’t wait to see this develop.
Yes, I think you’re on to a winner here, Rachel. And of course, there’s the attraction of using gold and silk.
I love your print. It is just a little faded in the right places to embroider on. The use of gold thread should be a great highlight.
It’s looking good to me!!
that’s a really good start, I look forward to the addition of the silks
A great start. xx
🙂 I’ve always loved the bust of Nefertiti, and your interpretation in cloth is already lovely!
your embroidery lives beautifully on this background Rachel. I am certain this is going to be fabulous….
Your stitching as always is gorgeous. I’ve been following along as you post photos on Instagram and it’s interesting to compare the photos and look back to where it was.
Thanks so much for linking up to last week’s Stitchery Link Party. Aloha hugs.