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Jaime Brooke Vickers

@stitchscaping

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Neighborhood uplift street art embroidery.

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Last week I was at the beach with the kids and my pup when storm clouds rolled in unexpectedly and fast. I frantically gathered our things, called the kids to hurry, and rushed to load everything in the cargo bike - but it was silly to rush because we had a long ride home and within two minutes we were all completely soaked. What good did I think rushing was going to do?

The kids stayed uncharacteristically calm and draped the beach blanket over their heads, and my pup sat quietly with his wet head poking out. Biking along, through the lakes that formed at intersections with my hair and clothes dripping, the whole thing felt so ridiculous and inescapable, and I found myself smiling and even singing during the 40-minute ride home. As I reached the city center I passed pedestrians and other cyclists who were drier than me, hunched over, grimacing, trying to stay as dry as possible. How different our faces looked!

The difference between my happy, calm troop and the grumpy folks we were passing: we couldn’t get any wetter, so there was nothing to resist and we found joy in it. The others were still trying to fight what was happening.

It reminded me of this quote, that I put up on a tree a few days before: “You have to keep on breaking your heart until it opens.”

Sometimes the most beautiful moments come when we stop resisting what we can’t control and let our hearts stay open to finding wonder in the mess.

Speaking of that quote, the textile is up on a tree near home that I often pass when walking the dog. As usual, it’s an upcycled piece of embroidery bought at a second hand store, with only the words added by me. It’s stapled directly to the tree.

#rumi #heartbreak #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood #stitchscaping #bikelife taken in Guldhedsdalen by @stitchscaping

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a year ago

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday today, I stitched a beautiful quote of his from his speech entitled “Where do we go from here.” Dr. King said, “I have decided to stick with love … hate is too great a burden to bear.” I stitched this using a simple split stitch. I usually only cross stitch so this took me out of my comfort zone and there are plenty of imperfections to be spotted. I only added the text; the flowers were on the textile when I bought it from a second hand store. It’s attached to the tree with staples. #mlk #stitchscaping #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood taken in Södra Guldheden by @stitchscaping

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2 years ago

Yesterday was the winter #solstice, the shortest day, and today is the height of the #ursids meteor shower. Here in Göteborg the sun set before 3:30 in the afternoon. My family marks the solstice with sparklers (to add light to the darkest day) and we gladly acknowledge that our days will only get lighter and brighter from here. Though we certainly miss the light in the winter, it’s important to hold space for the unique beauty and hope that these dark days provide. It seemed appropriate today to put up a hopeful message about darkness that I first heard (in English) during #Kamala #Harris eloquent concession speech in November: ”Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” I’ve since learned that it was originally part of Martin Luther King’s #mountaintop speech. I stitched it during my Swedish classes, so it seemed right to translate it to Swedish: ”Bara när det är tillräkligt mörkt kan man ser stjärnorna.” The boarder motif was already in place when I bought the textile from a #secondhandshop so I only added the words. It’s attached to the tree with staples. #stitchscaping #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood taken in Södra Guldheden by @stitchscaping

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2 years ago

This one goes up near my local library, where I am so grateful for the fantastic children’s program headed by a skilled library-teacher. My work here is the stitches text only; I bought the floral border second hand along with all the embroidery supplies. Text pattern was generated for free at stitchpoint.com. I hung this with staples. #fairytale #guldhedensbibliotek #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood #stitchscaping taken in Guldheden by @stitchscaping

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2 years ago

Rosita came to visit for a few weeks, and I wanted to make a piece to send home with her. We discussed a few phrases that I could write, but then we both realized that many of our conversations came down to the topic of TRUST and the role it plays in guiding interactions and internal experiences. I used a new embroidery style for this piece, something I wasn’t confident in, but I decided to trust the process. Rosita put it up at the home of a friend, her happy place in the California mountains. As usual, the textile and embroidery floss was purchased from a second hand store, and beside the text I only added the buttons and buttonhole elastic for hanging. #trust #stitchscaping #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood by @stitchscaping

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2 years ago

It’s May, and the dandelions are in full bloom. Maybe it’s because I don’t have a lawn to fret about that I adore them. Bring on the wishes! This is the first piece I’ve put up in my new neighborhood, just outside my balcony and right next to the yard’s planter boxes. I believe it’s a quote by #milne : “Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them,” and I love the reminder that beauty is abundant for those wiling to see it. I stapled this one directly to the tree, and the border and dandelion motif already existed when I bought the embroidery at a #secondhand shop. #stitchscaping #guldheden #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood taken in Södra Guldheden by @stitchscaping

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2 years ago

Another piece for #safirträdgården . She asked for something to cover the aging piece on the tree next to the little library, and this quote from #aesop “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted,” seemed to fit in well here. Monica wasn’t there when I put it up, but another neighbor was, and she went on and on about how lovely she found the previous message to be, and how it reminded her of her late husband. So, sorry Monica, the new piece is hung above the old one. #stitchscaping #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood taken in Safirträdgården by @stitchscaping

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2 years ago

Monica pulled me back into creating embroidery for public spaces by requesting “something in blue” for a central tree in her Safire garden. The only blue background I had on hand was long and needed to hang on a wide tree, so her central tree still has to wait for something daintier. I chose a quote from #thelittleprince that sums up Monica and her children-centered projects: “All grown-ups were once children, but only few of them remember it.” #stitchscaping #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood taken in Safirträdgården by @stitchscaping

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3 years ago

Adding to the story of the previous post, during the same #pypexhibition I made a second project in class alongside the kids who were working on #artactivism for the #sdgs. We emphasized the importance of making several drafts and improving through an iterative process, so I modeled this as well. Remaining focused on #sdg12 (responsible consumption and production) and #textileart, I embroidered a gender-bent variation of a #socratesquotes “she is richest who is content with the least.” I gifted it to my superb teaching assistant, @riaannabowman who was with me through thick and thin of that 8 week project and beyond. This was also made with thrifted and upcycled materials, for consistency with the message. #stitchscaping #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood #malmö by @stitchscaping

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3 years ago

I haven’t posted anything in a long time, but I was still embroidering for a bit after I stopped posting. This is from about a year and a half ago. I was working with kids, teaching about the #sdgs and encouraging them to embrace art as #activism. Each student chose a sustainable development goal that they felt passionate about and researched it until they were a mini-expert, and chose an art medium through which h to try to spread awareness of their cause and try to influence their community to also take action toward their goal. Leading by example, I chose #sdg12 - responsible consumption and production, and of course my art medium was textiles 🤩. I made this in class, while the students were working on their projects, and then gifted it to my amazing coteacher @dorianfranki. taken in Malmö, Sweden by @stitchscaping

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3 years ago

Getting a package ready for a friend back home …
I haven’t made one of these in a long time, but I’m feeling inspired again to hang my little mark on the world. The quote is from Walt Whitman — I heard it recently on the show Ted Lasso — and it feels like such apt advice.
The textile came pre-embroidered in browns and green; I bought it at a second hand store. I only added the text and two button / buttonhole elastic closure. Looking forward to receiving pics of it up on a tree or post when it reaches its recipient. #becurious #waltwhitman #stitchscaping #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood by @stitchscaping

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5 years ago

I’ve moved to a new city, and this is the first embroidery piece I’ve put up here - on a tree that stands along a tree-lined avenue with a major bike lane that I travel daily. I’m a bit conflicted about the precise location — I hung it on one of the smallest trees along that route, because most of the trees are so large that a wrap-around connection wouldn’t work, but it’s not far from a landmark church and I worry that will inform the way “I forgive you” will be interpreted. But really, I guess that’s silly to worry about. I didn’t embroider these words to offer specific forgiveness to a specific person; who or what a person thinks of when they see my sign is their own business. The point is just to amplify these powerful words that we all need to express and and receive more generously. As usual, I only added the words and the buttonhole elastic and two button closure; the floral bordered textile was purchased at a second hand store. #stitchscaping #iforgiveyou #neighborhoodsweetneighborhood #malmö taken in Rörsjöstaden by @stitchscaping

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5 years ago