Tara McPherson Embroidery

I'm doing a little catch-up with the embroidery posts. Though I haven't been sharing, I've still been stitching.

I do most of my stitching while my husband reads to me, and now that the semester's well under way there's lots of evenings spent curled up reading and stitching. Especially since we're currently in book two of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. So lots of good books = lots of fun stitching.

This is one I finished back in July. Tara McPherson is one of my favorite visual artists (so much so that I hunted down all 10 issues of the Vertigo comic The Witching, and I have to say, sadly, that her covers were the best part). So, I was over the moon when Sublime Stitching brought her on as a guest artist to make a pattern pack.

I carefully selected my colors, deciding on a rich, jewel-toned palette for this piece. It was a simple enough design, so the colors would really make it pop. It does. I loved how it came out...until I went to wash the finished piece.

You can't tell in very well from the photo, but the colors actually ran. I'd used a batch of no-name floss and the pink and purple bled permanently into the snowy white fabric.

At first, I was crushed. This was my first encounter with floss-color-bleed ruining a piece, and of course it had to be on the Tara McPherson pattern I'd waited so long to stitch.

However, the more I look at it, the more I like the look. It seems appropriate for this figure to have a hazy purple halo and a heart who's color bleeds gently across her chest. Thematically, it works.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to hoop her and add her to the growing wall of stitch, but at least I've come to peace with her.

Moral of this story: check to see if you floss will bleed when you try a new brand. Especially a no-name brand.

Little Halloween Friends

This is what happens when I have a free afternoon, some polymer clay, and an urge to indulge my inner mad scientist: I create my own little army of mini-monsters!

It began simply enough. If I was going to have a squad of adorable creatures, I would have to start with the basics: Frankenstein's monster, an iconic vampire, and a loyal Wolfman. Meet Frank, Drac, and Wolfie. 

I couldn't just stop there. Though there's something to be said for the classics, one must keep up with the times, especially when it comes to ghoul-making. 

Thus, I included two of my personal favorite movie monsters, Pinhead from Hellraiser, and the Repo Man from Repo: The Genetic Opera. It only seemed appropriate, since I was watching Repo while sculpting my wee, fiendish pals.

Each of these are only about 2 inches high (which made some of the details a challenge). These were so much fun to make, I have a feeling my macabre menagerie will grow before the year is out. Friendly monsters are always welcome in my home, no matter what holiday it is!

Branching Paths

For years, I've identified myself as a "jill-of-all-trades." My posts of late have felt a bit like drawing cards from a tarot deck, showing a different face each time: The Writer, The Filmmaker, The Crafter, The Geek, The Cook, The Traveler. 

Makes for a bit of scattered reading, no?

So, after a bit of soul-searching, I've decided that it would be best to create separate spaces for the separate parts of my life. 

My writing and filmmaking have become increasingly more active, and though this is wonderful for me, I understand most of my visitors to HEMM are here for cute crafts and tasty treats.

So, I've created a new blog devoted exclusively to my writing and filmmaking. 

I have grand plans for this new little blog, including:

• Advice and musings on the writing process, from inception to promotion. 
• A chronicle of my adventures in filmmaking as I launch into production of my latest short horror film, Inner Critic. 
• Book, comic, and movie reviews for stories that I truly consider "bloody good." 

Hand/Eye/Mind/Mouth began as -- and shall remain -- my crafty space. 

I hope some of you will join me over at Bloody Good Stories. If not, no hard feelings. I'll still be around here for a spot of stitching! 

"Eldorado" now available from Red Stylo Media

I am incredibly proud to announce the release of my first-ever comic book story, "Eldorado." 

From the press release:

The digital release of "Eldorado," written by Sherezada Windham-Kent with art by Alex Cormack, is available now! 

The sun sets on a 300-year quest for fabled gold and glory in this Zombie Western comic by film director, Sherezada Windham-Kent, and Alex Cormack. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem, "Eldorado". 

The digital version is packed with EXCLUSIVE bonus content, including alternate covers and messages from the artists. This content will ONLY be available in the digital edition! 

Download will be $1.99 in the RSM store and on DriveThruComics.com (soon also to be released on Graphic.ly and iVerse.) Read more about this and all of the stories in the POE TWISTED Anthology at www.TwistedPoe.com, published by RED STYLO MEDIA! 

Feeling a little giddy right now!