“I want to hold to traditional

embroidery but stand it on its

head with a change in style, con-

tent, context, and conversation.”

 

person who can be given luncheon meat, an apple, two crackers, and a pickle spear and bring to the table a Thanksgiving feast worthy of Norman Rockwell. If I wasn’t organized, things would be all over the place and claustrophobia would set in.”

McAllister, 39, compares his drive for organization to that of a librarian. “I enjoy and find solace putting things in their place: archiving, numbering, and cataloging. Even the portraits themselves have been put in their place. They’ve been researched, labeled (as we in society do), stitched, shown (or sold), and then tucked away in an old library card catalog drawer I have from the early 1950s. I store all my embroideries there, like books.”

For McAllister, the future looks bright. “I have been invited to show at the Embroiderers’ Guild of America’s museum in Louisville, Kentucky, next year,” he says. “This is a lifetime goal, and to have them approach me just makes me speechless every time I think of it. What a huge honor!” ×

 

» Check out the impressive details of his work at michaelaaronmcallister.com.

More photos at craftzine.com/09/mcallister

 

Julie Jackson lives in a land far away called the Internets. Perhaps you’ve seen her there at subversivecrossstitch.com, kittywigs.com, or snarkymalarkey.com.

Photography by David Torrence (materials)