Fiber artist Lea McComas creates realistic and expressive images using a longarm sewing machine. View more of her work by visiting her website.
![“Busy Signal” Fiber, 34” x 36”](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Busy-Signal-2.jpg)
“Busy Signal” Fiber, 34” x 36”
People fascinate me; everyone has a tale to tell. I love to watch those who cross my path and imagine the nature of their stories. For years, I lived, worked, and traveled abroad, preferring to travel alone or in small groups, as that provided the best opportunity to meet and interact with the population in an authentic way.
![“Running Commentary” Fiber, 21” x 51”by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Running_Commentary-2.jpg)
“Running Commentary” Fiber, 21” x 51”
My art is an extension of that fascination with the human experience. It’s about capturing stories with fabric and thread. Each piece is meant to introduce the viewer to a new character or set of characters by opening a window to their narrative.
![“Puppy Love” Fiber, 36” x 28” by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Puppy_Love-2.jpg)
“Puppy Love” Fiber, 36” x 28”
Inspired by masters of the Northern Renaissance such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and the detail they incorporated in their paintings, I work in a style of contemporary realism, but with a medium and process that is quite unique.
![“Turkish Bread Boys” Fiber, 36” x 58” by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Turkish-Bread-Boys-2.jpg)
“Turkish Bread Boys” Fiber, 36” x 58”
First, I draw a full size line drawing of the composition on paper. This reduces the image to a collection of closed shapes that will be used as pattern pieces. I assign a color and value to each shape, and then cut them apart. Each pattern piece is then cut from a fabric that corresponds to the value and color I assigned earlier.
![“Turkeman Mother with Children” Fiber, 45” x 39” by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Turkeman-Mother-and-Children.jpg)
“Turkeman Mother with Children” Fiber, 45” x 39”
A heat reactive film is applied to the back of the fabrics so that I can reassemble the shapes–now in fabric, on a thin layer of muslin, and fuse them in place using an iron.
![“Turkeman Crones” Fiber, 47” x 40” by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Turkeman-Crones-2.jpg)
“Turkeman Crones” Fiber, 47” x 40”
Next, I stitch over the entire top of this fabric layer to blend and cover the hard lines, add shading to create depth, and apply detail that brings figures to life. I do this work using a large industrial longarm sewing machine set on a track system. The fabric layer is attached to parallel rollers on a frame that looks like a giant scroll running through the machine.
![Artist Lea McComas at the longarm sewing machine. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Artist-Lea-McComas-at-the-Longarm-Machine.jpg)
Artist Lea McComas at the longarm sewing machine
As I work, I rotate the rollers to expose different sections of my composition. I control the stitching using handlebars attached to the longarm. Imagine an artist that meticulously fills in a drawing using pencil lines. Replace those pencil marks with lines of stitching, and you have a sense of what I do.
![“Crossing Over” Fiber, 83” x 62” by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Crossing-Over-2.jpg)
“Crossing Over” Fiber, 83” x 62”
Currently, I’m working on four series. The one I’m most excited about right now focuses on contemporary subjects. It incorporates a more vibrant color scheme than my previous work and uses many fabrics that I have dyed or printed myself.
![“Panning for Gold” Fiber, 31” x 39”by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Panning-For-Gold-2.jpg)
“Panning for Gold” Fiber, 31” x 39”
I continue to work from photos of my time living and teaching in Turkey. It’s a bittersweet series as I know that many of the places I visited have been destroyed, and the lives of the people I met have been devastated.
![“Bike Boys” Fiber, 83” x 46”by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Bike-Boys-2.jpg)
“Bike Boys” Fiber, 83” x 46”
A third series focuses on the American West, where I now live. This is a historical series based on photos from the archives of various history museums.
![“Vigil” Fiber, 46” x 30”by artist Lea McComas. See her portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Vigil-2.jpg)
“Vigil” Fiber, 46” x 30”
Finally, I recently filmed an online class about pet portraits where I showed how to apply my techniques to represent our furry and feathered friends. This sparked a new series about how pets enrich our lives.
Artist Lea McComas invites you to follow her on Facebook.
Wow. Congratulations. I truly admire your work. I too lived in Turkey and can relate to the people in your art.