Exciting Embroidery Artists

Before we dive into some gorgeous embroidery art, I have a favour to ask. The past two weeks I have worked hard on some ideas to promote my studio locally. The best way to do that is to collaborate with others. And one of these fellow power-women is Valia Dikova of 'Oberammergau Erleben'. She writes a lovely blog about all things interesting in Oberammergau. Can you please click the link to help her generate more traffic to her blog? That would be awesome!

And now on to embroidery related stuff. As you probably know, I am a member of the Fiber Art Network. Not only do they sent informative newsletters once a week, but they also produce the magazine 'Fiber Art Now'. Periodically, I peruse the latest issues to search for embroidery art which captivates me. Here are my latest discoveries:

'Mourning Gown' by Sherryll Cuneo

Sherrell Cuneo's 'Mourning Gown' was selected for the exhibition Excellence in Fibers IV in the category wearables. It immediately caught my eye as the gown has a LOT of hand-stitched lettering on it. It says things like: 'Ending', 'extinct mammals' & 'August 12, 1883'. The dress chronicles the more recent extinction of species. This is what Sherrell writes on her website about the Mourning Gown:

"The Mourning Gown is a simple gown with incredibly long sleeves and a hem, seen from above, in the shape of an equal armed cross. It is made of old muslin with somewhat tattered dagged edges. Encircling the neck it reads “She cries as each dies…” There are thoughts on extinction, the definition of the word ending, the lyrics to Moondog’s ‘All Is Loneliness’, and a circle dance prayer at the womb. But mostly it is an ongoing list of the names of relatively recent extinctions. I have tried to separate somewhat taxonomically. It has occurred to me that in embroidering a name I am perhaps spending more time on some of these species than has been spent in a very long time."

She adds in the magazine: 'The gown will be done when all of the dress is covered, as the extinctions continue to go on at an alarming rate'. Very thought provoking indeed! You can also find Sherrell on Instagram @sewtheseeds

'Four little Girls, September 15, 1963' by Bisa Butler

Although not embroidery, the colourful work of Bisa Butler really captured my eye! There is so much to see in each of her quilts. They are so full of life. Bisa uses old black-and-white photographs to make her compositions. Each piece is extensively researched and incorporates aspects of her own multi-racial background. Enjoy exploring her work at her Instagram account @bisabutler.