I'm an Oak - Stitch/sketch self portrait

I've dreamt many times about finding my face in hidden places.



Momentarily frozen in the desert sand or scraped into the paint of a peeling, city shack.



The most amazing and frightening dream was that I stumbled on an injured deer in a forest and she had my face.


My self portrait sketch became my face trapped in the bark of an oak.

I want to make more of these portraits with more careful stitching.  Stitching is such a slow process... it was fun and freeing to approach this piece as a sketch. I made large, looping split stitches to outline the bark.  I took a little more care with my face, but I didn't sweat each stab of the needle like I normally do.


But still, the process is slow.  To get more detail, color and shading for this image... that will take even more time.  I can document the deterioration of my face for the next 30 years.


This is exciting.