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Jim Gentry ~
My work merges the threads and textures of a sewing machine, with the inks of a manual typewriter. Combining them, I sew the portraits of people, birds, insects and flowers, then I type a repeating phrase around the sewn image. All this work is done on canvas. My art aims to start a conversation with the viewer’s inner dialogue by using emotionally charged imagery and words. I get my inspiration by observing myself, and others, interact and react to the world.
Each piece has a freehand quality to it, which is introduced in the early stages. By holding the canvas under the fluttering needle and as the teeth pull the canvas forward, I maneuver the sheet by pulling or twisting, reversing and slowing down, in a half controlled race to follow the contours of a face or wing. I also vary the color of thread used and control the tension giving it different effects at desired points in the image. An example of this would be the hair of a model that may be curly and blonde; in which case, I loosen the thread tension, and using a golden string. This process also gives the work texture and dimensionality.
Once this image is stitched, it is time to run it through the typewriter. I look at the phrases I type as small segments of thought, or a fragmented sentence that I invite the viewer to complete. There is a therapeutic yet maddening space that is created from typing the same phase over and over again. I have that tension live in each piece. Color also plays a role in the typing where patterns can be formed or certain words emphasized depending on whether I type them in red ink of the ribbon or black. With a repetition of words, and switching back and forth between the red half of the ribbon and black half, I find the hand and eyes often trick each other, producing a misspelling or extra letter. To me these flavor and contribute to the work, making them “human”, and vulnerable.
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