Stella Maria L. de Guia
Cross stitch is a medium for artistic expression, an activity that requires great skill, patience and care in shaping the work.
It is a therapeutic and calming craft. Its repetitive process and silent motion bring inner peace and gratification and involves a lot of patience. It also helps improve cognitive, emotional and social well-being.Like all other works of art, the end product is always rewarding. And just like holding a paintbrush, your dexterous hand armed with a tapestry needle executes the drawing envisioned in your mind into a pattern of colors. Such is the wonder of Cross stitching. It is long, tedious and yet satisfying.
For Jacqueline “Jackie” Molina de Guia who has done cross stitching for many years, it all started in her elementary days, doing small projects in her Home Economics class until these eventually grew in size and gradually became bigger and bigger, throughout her High School and College days moving from one yard, to two, to three. She now does bigger pieces measuring about five feet by four feet, as seen from her works here.
“I draw inspiration from my feelings and the beautiful pictures I come across with in Google or elsewhere,” says Jackie, who is a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology graduate. Her knack for numbers and eye for beauty is converted by her adroit hands thereby translating into beautiful tapestry. She is mother to seven-year-old Eli Dominic and wife to Nash.
“If I see a beautiful photographs, I download it and convert it into a pattern using a pattern converting software. I used to buy my patterns, but now that I have a pattern maker, it is a lot easier for commissioned work. I edit the pattern according to the size that I need. I use as many color of threads to get the exact color that I want. I usually finished one 5 feet by 4 feet commissioned work in six to eight months,” adds Jackie.
Jackie has done less than 70 different cross-stitch products to date. To own one is indeed a treasure. People who come across her work from here and abroad seek her out. “My sister Mel who lives in Texas bought about 20 of my work. The request for cross stitch products varies from horses, to the Banaue Rice Terraces, to mountains and landscapes, to oceans and sunsets.”
For those who want to see Jackie’s huge cross-stitch masterpieces and collections, they are exhibited at the Baguio Museum until the end of September. You may get in touch with her thru Facebook messenger (Jackie Molina-de Guia), or call her at 09195380724. Happy 113th birthday, Baguio!
