In this episode of the Stitch Safari Podcast, I investigate how passion and curiosity drive people to pick up a needle and thread.

What fuels innovation and a need for some to follow their own path?

Do you have to be a lifelong stitcher or a relative newcomer to enable a vision to weave together personal stories, cultural insights and creative motivations, or does the journey happen organically, fuelled by happenstance?

These elements highlight that embroidery is far more than just a craft. As we know, it’s a journey of exploration and experimentation.

Embroidery is a global and timeless art, but why do people fall in love with it, and what keeps them hooked?

Is it a journey of finding passion, inspiring curiosity, or a combination?  Or do some want to simply enjoy replicating traditional patterns?

Let’s find out through the stories of five fascinating embroiderers who have followed their own paths to create unique textile art.

When does a deep interest transform itself into artistry?

When that lightbulb moment appears, suddenly the exploration of embroidered art becomes serious.

There are many transformative stories related to embroidery.  Take, for instance, the recent pandemic, instances of loss, memories, protest, family traditions or simply the need to be creative.

And they usually all relate to a sense of curiosity fueled by the intensity of passion.

Curiosity incites learning, whether that’s learning new stitches or techniques, researching other artists or delving back through the fascinating history of embroidery itself, with passion expressing itself through enthusiasm, vigour and intensity – a desire and zestfulness that’s hard to quench.

Thankfully, many embroiderers embody both curiosity and passion.  Let me introduce just a few.

Justyna Wolodkiewicz is a self-taught Polish embroiderer who uses polymer clay and stitch to create amazing three-dimensional embroidered art. Now, that’s an unusual combination in anyone’s book, and Justyna’s work is stand-alone. It’s unique, driven by her passion for creating, spurred by a curiosity about the world around her.

Vibrant colours, textures and shapes produce work that is technically complicated and incredibly whimsical, yet able to express her life, emotions and thoughts.

Fascinated by linear artwork, naive and primitive artwork over realistic, has resulted in Justyna’s work being filled with these characteristics.

Bold, beautifully coloured, dimensional work, brimming with radiating or criss-crossed lines, and polymer clay shapes that gently guide embroidery threads through small openings, creating a network of intricacy, producing work that’s somehow completely different from anything I’ve seen before.

There’s a back-story here, though.  Justyna was inspired by a polymer clay artist by the name of Stephanie Kilgast, who creates sculptures made on trash or thrifted objects, driven by the environmental impact of human activities.  This is a very interesting and talented artist, and well worth a look if you have time.  Her environmental messages are loud and clear and beautifully rendered.

Next is Justien van der Winkel, who states on her website that ‘she just loves birds’.

Love is a form of passion, and Justien demonstrates both with every bird she creates.

Justien begins by designing a pattern for the bird’s body, then combines this with fabrics, threads, wire, wood, yarn and stitching.

Every stitch fine-tunes each bird’s unique shape, drawing its own personality-filled character with each passing of the needle and thread.

These amazing renditions stand on their own two feet, or dimensionally away from the wall, bringing life and energy to the avian world of textiles and embroidery.

Passion quickly turned into obsession, then into a career for American embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning, whose bold embroidery aesthetic is filled with botanical imagery and intense detail.

Now Sarah is a globally recognised brand offering one-of-a-kind artworks, small-batch embroidery kits, digital pattern programs and global workshop opportunities.

Driven by a love of the process and freedom of embroidery that snowballed into a passion, then a business, when Sarah shared her work on Etsy and Instagram.

Her aesthetic features vibrant, densely stitched images of house plants and home interiors worked and displayed in a hoop, boldly outlined in black thread that’s characteristic of her work to this day.

Using just a few techniques, Sarah builds surfaces and textures in her work, using complex compositions along with her deliberate use of colour.

Inspired by houseplants and mid-century design, Sarah draws and stitches every piece, lured by the slow, intentional, meditative qualities embroidery offers, completely covering the ground fabric with her wonderful stitching.

Now onto a very interesting self-taught embroidery artist who combines the art of hand and machine embroidery.

Kristine Stattin successfully blends traditional craftsmanship with a modern, abstract approach to embroidery.

Kristine’s journey has largely been self-driven, fuelled by a passion for fabric, thread and the endless possibilities they offer – and there’s the curiosity.

Kristine’s process dances between her machine and hand-worked embroidery stitches that either overlay the machine stitching or help fill voided areas in or around it, resulting in a contrast of shapes and textures that’s very appealing to the eye.

Her machine thread-painting work lays down a structured, almost architectural quality that’s given warmth by the personal, intimate touch of handwork, and it’s this playful dual approach that creates a sense of dynamism, depth and movement in her work.

Her deep love for textiles, coupled with a drive to express herself through her work, lends an authenticity and a fresh approach to her personal storytelling.  Again, this is work that is uniquely her own, exemplified by her passion and curiosity to forge a way forward that matched her wants and needs – and you can see it in her embroideries.  There’s an emotional depth written into every stitch.

Now I was fortunate to have been invited into an Australian exhibition entitled Exuberance: An Embroiderers’ Perspective, along with 20 or so other artists, so I’m going to finish with one of the embroidery artists from that exhibition.

Aimee Estcourt has only been stitching for just over ten years, but it’s become her passion and the perfect way for her to relax and unwind after a busy day.

What caught my eye, though, was Aimee’s amazing use of colour, line, texture and contrast – all the things that make you sit up and take notice of her powerful embroidery.

Playful colour work is the most important and enjoyable part of her process as Aimee creates vibrant embroidered art inspired by her love of nature and things that bring her joy.

Aimee’s process includes photography, printing several copies of the same photo, combining tracing and working in finer details before deciding on colourways.

What catches the eye, apart from her wonderful use of colour, is her use of contrasts of texture.  To achieve this, Aimee uses a linen fabric ground where contemporary freehand embroidery combines with traditional cross-stitch – and it’s a magical combination.  A variety of cotton and wool threads are used, working in realistic and non-realistic colours – something that lifts her work to another level.

But Aimee also likes to experiment, working in some areas with dense stitching, contrasting with other, more open spaces that are worked with minimal stitching.  This makes for a very, very interesting embroidered artwork from someone who hasn’t been stitching all that long.

So let me finish by answering some of those questions posed earlier in my Intro.

What fuels innovation?

Every one of these embroiderers uses traditional embroidery techniques, but each has branched out into the unknown world of innovation using their unique voice – you can see it clearly in their work.  So why take the risk?

Embroidery isn’t simply about fabric and thread.  It’s about having the courage to follow a spark of curiosity that begs to be answered, leading to some deeply personal outcomes.  That’s curiosity.

So to fuel innovation, there is a three-pronged approach that includes curiosity, passion and courage.  Et voilà, we’re hooked.

Regardless of how it starts, curiosity breathes life into passion – it draws us in, unravelling new emotions supported by new ideas.

Courage comes with daring to be different, wearing your heart on your sleeve for all to see, along with the self-belief to go your own way.

It’s often been said that embroidery is a form of quiet rebellion.  Well, each of these embroidery artists has found a way to tell a story that words can’t express, proving that curiosity, no matter how small to start with, can grow into something beautiful, intricate, expressive and artistic.

As to the question of being a lifelong stitcher or a relative newcomer, most of these artists are relatively new to the world of embroidery, and most are self-taught, which is truly insightful, showing that vision will find a way that works, through the right fingers.

You have to be an explorer, a discoverer and someone willing to take a few risks.

Does this happen organically, or is it fuelled by happenstance?  Neither.  In my opinion, it’s sheer determination mixed with a strong work ethic.

So why do people fall in love with embroidery, and what keeps them hooked?

Each of these artists shares the connective power of passion and curiosity, and each has pushed embroidery into new territory.  No fanfare, just passion, curiosity and the courage to keep moving forward with an idea.

Is it the creativity, the rewarding results, the tactile experience or the ability to express oneself through colour and design?

It’s all of those and more.  It’s relaxing, rhythmic and extremely personal.  It’s a sensory experience that’s soothing and engaging, allowing personal creativity free rein.

But embroidery is also a learned skill, one that can be successfully self-taught, providing a sense of accomplishment and confidence-building.  It’s continuous learning and curiosity that sparks further innovation, still able to offer a connection with our past and an appreciation of the artistic heritage of embroidery.

Each of these embroiderers shares that unique connective power of curiosity, passion and courage – just three little words filled with a world of possibility.  Every time they pick up a needle and thread, every time they start something new and every time they share their work with the world.

So when you next set down your needle, or perhaps pick one up for the first time in a while, think about curiosity, passion and courage in your textile and embroidery art practice.

Keep searching and asking questions regardless of what others think, because this is the path to creating unique visual art.

Most importantly, though, keep asking yourself if you dare to allow a needle and thread to lead the way.

May I suggest you follow that thread with all the passion you can muster, and the very best of luck.