Artist Uses Home Sewing Machine To Capture Nature’s Most Delicate Forms With Embroidery
Embroidery art often seeks to mimic nature, but Australian visual artist Meredith Woolnough has a special technique we’ve never seen before. By using water-soluble fabric, her beautiful embroidery, which is inspired by nature’s most graceful forms, gains a new dimension of lightness and delicacy.
First, she traces a natural form onto her water-soluble fabric. Then, once she has embroidered her art onto the fabric and dissolved it, she mounts the resulting artwork on a piece of paper, a wall, or whatever other format the artwork demands. Some are even suspended in clear resin or framed. And she does it all with a regular domestic sewing machine!
Check out Woolnough’s blog, which has more of her art as well as tips and tricks for people looking to embroider their own nature art. You can also learn more about how she makes her embroidery by reading her interview with Bored Panda below the images!
More info: meredithwoolnough.com.au | Blogspot | Instagram | Facebook (h/t: mymodernmet)
“Nature is an endless source of inspiration for my work,” Woolnough told Bored Panda. “I am fascinated by the patterns and structures found within the growth systems of plants, coral andshells, the way things branch out and unfurl.”
“I try to get out into nature as much as I can as a type of ‘field work’ to inspire my desings. I go for regular bushwalks around my local area and I scuba dive whenever I can.”
“I am always open to exploring new subject matter – I just find I keep getting sucked back into to nature inspired themes.”
“The water-soluble fabric is a lot like a film or non-woven fabric made out of PVA glue. This wash away fabric was originally used in the medical industry as a laundry bag that would dissolve in the wash so no one had to handle any contaminated surgery gowns.”
“I use this water-soluble film as my base fabric and once my embroidered design is complete I simply wash it all away in hot water to leave my skeleton of stitches behind.”
“Basically it all comes down to the way I stitch the design. I need to make sure that all of my stitches are connected so that when I wash away the base fabric it doesn’t just all unravel and turn into a big mess. Over the years I have developed a way to stitch so that I know it will all hold together.”
“Occasionally I will do a side project that explores something completely different from my nature inspired work. About a year ago I did a fun project that involved embroidering a small piece of text every day for the span of a month.”
“The daily text acted like a diary entry for me where I recorded by thoughts, feelings and secrets. The text was readable when it was stitched but once the base fabric was washed away the pieces turned into unreadable squiggles – so all my musings stayed a secret.”
Thank you Meredith for the interview! We wish you the best of luck!
123Kviews
Share on FacebookMy mouth was hanging open looking at the images... unreal! Gorgeous, stunning, and every other superlative! I could look at them all day. :)
Holy moly! I am so seriously outclassed! Can' even find words to tell you how incredible these are. Would love to see them in person.
Unbelieveable! I can't get over the fact that this was done on a basic sewing machine. GENIUS! SIMPLY GENIUS . . .
This is absolutely wonderful am trying to have a go but will keep trying.Rene P
Ohh my God.. This is amazing. Which sewing machine did you use for this. I am thinking of getting one on this list..Singer with many stitching pattern http://bestsewingmachinereviewspot.com
Meredith, I'm so pleased to find your beautiful art work. It is so delicate, so perfect as a sigh of Angels. Congratulations and Blessings!
These are absolutely gorgeous - and you are so talented and resourceful!!!! My mouth is hanging open too Leslie - never seen anything like it!!!
I have seen some of Meredith's work and was truly inspired. I used her method to make some gum leaves but it is not as easy as it might seem
Truly a visionary artist. You must see the world in a way that most of us cannot.
Stunning work....best machine embroidery I have ever seen. Are they on show anywhere in Aus?
Absolutely fantastic. These are wonderful, even the purple cut cabbage. Such wonderful talent.
Meredith's work is stunning! I like the use of bright colors which makes a stark silhouette of the natural lines. So fun to look at!
This is absolutely Stunning work. The bright color thread makes a striking silohuette of the natural shapes. I love your work, Meredith.
That is absolutely beautiful, I would love to take a class from her, very talented lady !!!!
Beautiful! Incredible details! I would love to have some of them in my house!
Love your work, and would love to provide you with my Octi-Hoops - learn more http://www.creativefeet.com/products/frames/octi-hoop
As a hand stitcher,I have had no I interest in machine embroidery. However, this is beautiful and I look forward to seeing more.
I want one. No, I want them all!!! The textures and colors are so beautiful. And encasing in clear resin? Right up my alley :)
Good lord. These are so beautiful, so delicate, and the color choices are amazing. Encasing in clear resin - right up my alley!
It gave me real pleasure to look at this photos. Also it gave some ideas to use in my hobby of making cloths from medieval patterns.
Unbelievable! I can't think of adjectives that could describe the beauty of these and do them justice.
This is amazing! I'm speechless how beautiful this is! I would love to buy them!!! Nature is amazing and Meredith is amazing.. just Wow!!!
this is insane and mind blowing work. hope u sell yo stuff and become filthy rich. u really deserve it. this is museum quality art.
Wauw, the pictures of your art makes a shine on my sad day. Thanks! :)
My mouth was hanging open looking at the images... unreal! Gorgeous, stunning, and every other superlative! I could look at them all day. :)
Holy moly! I am so seriously outclassed! Can' even find words to tell you how incredible these are. Would love to see them in person.
Unbelieveable! I can't get over the fact that this was done on a basic sewing machine. GENIUS! SIMPLY GENIUS . . .
This is absolutely wonderful am trying to have a go but will keep trying.Rene P
Ohh my God.. This is amazing. Which sewing machine did you use for this. I am thinking of getting one on this list..Singer with many stitching pattern http://bestsewingmachinereviewspot.com
Meredith, I'm so pleased to find your beautiful art work. It is so delicate, so perfect as a sigh of Angels. Congratulations and Blessings!
These are absolutely gorgeous - and you are so talented and resourceful!!!! My mouth is hanging open too Leslie - never seen anything like it!!!
I have seen some of Meredith's work and was truly inspired. I used her method to make some gum leaves but it is not as easy as it might seem
Truly a visionary artist. You must see the world in a way that most of us cannot.
Stunning work....best machine embroidery I have ever seen. Are they on show anywhere in Aus?
Absolutely fantastic. These are wonderful, even the purple cut cabbage. Such wonderful talent.
Meredith's work is stunning! I like the use of bright colors which makes a stark silhouette of the natural lines. So fun to look at!
This is absolutely Stunning work. The bright color thread makes a striking silohuette of the natural shapes. I love your work, Meredith.
That is absolutely beautiful, I would love to take a class from her, very talented lady !!!!
Beautiful! Incredible details! I would love to have some of them in my house!
Love your work, and would love to provide you with my Octi-Hoops - learn more http://www.creativefeet.com/products/frames/octi-hoop
As a hand stitcher,I have had no I interest in machine embroidery. However, this is beautiful and I look forward to seeing more.
I want one. No, I want them all!!! The textures and colors are so beautiful. And encasing in clear resin? Right up my alley :)
Good lord. These are so beautiful, so delicate, and the color choices are amazing. Encasing in clear resin - right up my alley!
It gave me real pleasure to look at this photos. Also it gave some ideas to use in my hobby of making cloths from medieval patterns.
Unbelievable! I can't think of adjectives that could describe the beauty of these and do them justice.
This is amazing! I'm speechless how beautiful this is! I would love to buy them!!! Nature is amazing and Meredith is amazing.. just Wow!!!
this is insane and mind blowing work. hope u sell yo stuff and become filthy rich. u really deserve it. this is museum quality art.
Wauw, the pictures of your art makes a shine on my sad day. Thanks! :)
64
95