Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943) was a Swiss artist of the 1910s and 20s who challenged the boundary between fine and decorative art, becoming a central figure in the Zurich outpost of the Dadaist movement, the precursor to Surrealism. She created abstract paintings and drawings contemporary with Mondrian and Malevich. Moving fluidly between Dadaist painted sculpture, marionettes, and performance, she also embroidered geometric abstract works and made beaded jewelry and bags. Her art objects were sold at the Zurich branch of the Wiener Werkstätte shop. Like the designers of the Wiener Werkstätte, she believed that all aspects of life could be a work of art: art, and therefore craft, was integral to daily life.

Join me to stitch an eye pattern inspired by Taeuber-Arp’s textile works and Dada Head, 1918. Make a pin with the design or add the motif to a bag, shirt, or scarf. I’ll share different ways to stitch the design. Learn about Taeuber Arp’s life and contributions to modernism in the Dadaist movement, the development of geometric abstraction, and the surrounding cultural environment post World War I. Let’s remember and champion women artists and the value of art, craft, and creative life!

The workshop will take place on Zoom and the recording will be available for one month afterward. I will email the Zoom link and pdf on the Tuesday before we meet.

Materials needed:

Fabric: Linen or felt if making the pin. A 5 × 5 inch/ 13 × 13 cm square is plenty.
Water-soluble embroidery pen or heat sensitive Frixion pen. If working on dark fabric, trace the pattern on tracing paper and then stitch the tracing paper pattern in the running stitch to the fabric, ripping the paper off when finished.
Embroidery needle
Cotton floss: DMC mouliné / Anchor stranded floss or Perle Cotton no. 8. My examples are using DMC mouliné.
For the pin: Cardboard or heavy card stock; Pin back hardware, large safety pin, or 1-2 large sewing pins; and sewing thread in a color that matches your fabric
4 inch/ 10 cm embroidery hoop (nice but optional). Work without a hoop or use a larger piece of fabric in whatever hoop you have.

The floss colors I used are DMC 816, 3858, 3687, 781, 501, 823, and 451.

DATE:

Saturday, Sept. 26, 10am -12pm PST/ 1-3pm EST/ 7-9pm CET

Images:
1 and 2. The workshop project pin made with merino wool and pattern on linen. 3. Nic. Aluf, Sophie Taeuber with her Dada head (plate 138) 1920, silver gelatin print on board, Stiftung Arp e.V., Berlin 4. Dada head, 1918. Oil and metallic paint on wood, 34 cm high and 20 cm diameter, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou. 5. Embroidery, c. 1920, (Detail) Wool on canvas, 32 × 40 cm, private collection on loan to the Fondation Arp, Clamart, France. 6. Smeraldina (marionette for King Stag), 1918, Oil on wood, fabric, glass beads, metal hardware, 44 × 15 × 13 cm, Museum für Gestaltung, Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Zurich.