I’m about 3 weeks in to my crowd funding campaign for my residency project, and I haven’t stopped working since it began! Every day means sending emails, tweets, messages, press releases etc. I’ve contacted everyone I can think of, but I always think of more.
I’ve had a great response from the people I’ve contacted so far, with lots of people wanting to get involved with the project. The hardest part is getting word out there beyond just my immediate contacts, but at last it seems to be paying off. I’ve started to be contacted by people who have had a message or an email passed on to them, and that’s great news. I’ve also got a few magazines, both local magazines and cross-stitch magazines, which are writing an article or interviewing me about the project.
One of the things I’m hoping to do is to get around the country and give workshops, or meet with sewing groups to work on the project. I’ve been contacting galleries and museums to try to find venues, as well as contacting sewing group directly. How much I can do depends on how much money I can raise, but I’m happy to say that I’m receiving some interest for potential venues. Hopefully then I can provide workshops and materials for free, and get more people involved.
The pattern that I want people to stitch themselves is almost ready to be released, and every piece that someone stitches and sends in will go into an exhibition at Bank Street Arts late next year.
For my own part of the project, I’m going to be working on a large scale cross-stitch, which will hang from the ceiling at the exhibition next year. I’ve been working on design ideas, and I’ve decided to base my plans on a Byzantine dome, but with images relating to the Three Fates of Greek Myth.

You can help me out massively by sharing the link to my crowd funding appeal, even if you feel unable to contribute yourself. Thank you for your support.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-thread-of-life-project-exhibition/x/8915627