There’s a very funny insect that you do not often spy,
And it isn’t quite a spider, and it isn’t quite a fly;
It is something like a beetle, and a little like a bee,
But nothing like a wooly grub that climbs upon a tree.
Its name is quite a hard one, but you’ll learn it soon, I hope.
So try:
Tri-
Tri-anti-wonti-
Triantiwontigongolope.

It lives on weeds and wattle-gum, and has a funny face;
Its appetite is hearty, and its manners a disgrace.
When first you come upon it, it will give you quite a scare,
But when you look for it again, you find it isn’t there.
And unless you call it softly it will stay away and mope.
So try:
Tri-
Tri-anti-wonti-
Triantiwontigongolope.

It trembles if you tickle it or tread upon its toes;
It is not an early riser, but it has a snubbish nose.
If you snear at it, or scold it, it will scuttle off in shame,
But it purrs and purrs quite proudly if you call it by its name,
And offer it some sandwiches of sealing-wax and soap.
So try:
Tri-
Tri-anti-wonti-
Triantiwontigongolope .

But of course you haven’t seen it; and I truthfully confess
That I haven’t seen it either, and I don’t know its address.
For there isn’t such an insect, though there really might have been
If the trees and grass were purple, and the sky was bottle green.
It’s just a little joke of mine, which you’ll forgive, I hope.
Oh, try!
Tri-
Tri-anti-wonti-
Triantiwontigongolope.

I couldn’t resist this delightful poem by Australian poet CJ Dennis, taken from his Book for Kids published in 1921.  What a wonderful play on humour, language and imagination.

And while there may be no Triantiwontigongolope’s here, there certainly are beetles, bugs and spiders aplenty in the amazing world of embroidery – in fact, it’s alive with them.

This bountiful aspect of the natural world offers such scope for variety, colour, shape, and pattern that it’s hard to overlook it. Vital to the world’s ecosystems and sustainable food production, they are incredibly beautiful and are increasingly used as subjects for embroidery.

But that has always been the case if we cast our minds back through history.  Elizabeth I must have loved insects as some of her dresses are described as spangled with flies, worms, grasshoppers and bees.

Look at the amazing beetle-wing embroidery from India’s Mughal period with its unique iridescent, shimmering colours or indeed, Cochineal, introduced to Europe from Mexico where it was used long before the coming of the Spaniards to produce natural colours ranging from scarlet, crimson, orange and other tints.

But in this episode, Stitch Safari listeners, I’m looking for the best of the best – embroiderers who not only use insects as inspiration for their design and embroidery but who follow that up with a technique base that seems to bring them alive, giving them personality and making us appreciate their exquisite beauty.

Fly away with me, or sit and watch and spin.  Somewhere near, an insect’s waiting to get in.

Intro

I’m going to begin with Rie, or Marie Wenham, a London-based embroidery artist and designer who depicts some of the most loathed insects giving them a fresh makeover and a personality that makes them look friendly and cuddly and something we should all have on show somewhere special – now that’s a huge turnaround.

Wrought using Goldwork, Crewel Work and Stumpwork techniques, these arachnids and snakes are pumped with character and are not easily overlooked because they are so appealing – yes, appealing, as Rie produces one-of-a-kind pins, patches and 3D artworks.

Beautifully coloured embroidery – usually in soft, delicate shadings of pinks and purples, but there are some ruby or green eight-legged beauties, just to change things up a little, combine with the texture of the embroidery techniques to make these little dainties almost irresistible.

Now the embroidery is exquisite and in many cases, the spider is not small, some almost measuring the length of a hand, but the combination of shaded embroidery paired with the richness of Goldwork and padding gives them life, character and pizzaz.

Rie Wenham describes her spiders as terrifyingly beautiful. But the combination of colour and texture spins its own magic to create these beautiful embroideries. Stitches such as French Knots, Satin Stitch, Bullion Stitch, and simple Long and Short Stitch shading from light to dark look amazing when surrounded or covered by gold.

Rie also produces delightful dragonflies and butterflies along with fully embroidered writhing snakes.  My favourite is the snake with a Goldwork tail.

With an art and embroidery background, this freelance embroiderer uses her abilities to produce luxurious textures and colourful combinations of surface design.

Rie Wenham loves embroidery for its therapeutic value and the beauty of embellishment, which she does so well.

Next is the work of haute-couture embroidery artist Noboru Hoareau, who uses a combination of surface and bead embroidery.

This French embroiderer produces stunningly elegant creepy crawlies comprised mostly of beads.

The technique of Tambour beading is usually seen in Haute Couture where it’s used to embellish expensive clothing but Noboru uses it to make the most incredible insect creations imaginable.

His work is pure magic.  My favourite is a lime green beetle made using bugle beads, seed beads and large fancy sequins for the body on a base of hand embroidery, although his use of actual beetle wings for beetle wings is pure genius.  These can be sourced ethically. The work is exquisite and stunningly executed.

Noboru posts great personality-filled videos on his Instagram account and when it comes to his embroidered creepy crawlies, who can resist?

Now to something a little more traditional perhaps but beautiful in its timelessness.

Jane Nicholas is a name that’s been around for a while.  This Australian embroiderer has produced some of the most amazing embroidered imagery of beetles, butterflies and moths using Goldwork, Crewel Work and her speciality, Stumpwork techniques.

In her book, The Stumpwork, Goldwork and Surface Embroidery Beetle Collection, published by Sally Milner Publishing Pty. Ltd., in 2004, Jane shares her knowledge about the world of beetles followed by their anatomy.  Then Jane goes into the beetle as embellishment, such as the scarab beetle from Ancient Egypt, Beetles as a design source citing botanist Christopher Dresser’s decorative compositions and Habet Dys’ drawings and designs for repeat patterns.

There’s a chapter on Beetles and Jewellery with examples by Lalique, Cartier and John Paul Miller and nothing is overlooked as Jane includes beetle buttons and even mentions the Butterfly Man of Kuranda, Frederick Parkhurst Dodd, known for his passion for tropical insects.

Best of all is the chapter on Beetle Wings as Adornment accompanied by wonderful imagery and how to attach both whole and sequin-sized beetle wings to your work.

If you wish to create beetles and don’t know where to start, Jane offers The Beetle Specimen Box followed by detailed instructions on making numerous beetles and the family they come from – there’s inspiration here for a lifetime.

This book is more of a teaching tool, but it’s irresistible.

Art therapist and embroidery designer, Beth Hoyes, draws parallels between creatures and humans as they change and grow during their lives – this is work at the macro level, zooming in on individual elements that merge to create a very colourful and amazing whole.

Beth finds the diversity of plants and creatures inspiring and began her career stitching moths.  She’s drawn to the symbolism of moths and butterflies for their capacity to transition and is known for her signature way of working macro nature embroideries.

Beth sees her work as an immersive experience offering viewers a portal into nature but also providing that sense of connectivity and oneness with the natural environment.

Working with long sweeps of coloured thread using a simple straight stitch, Beth combines the texture of thread and the vivacity of colour and pattern to produce work that is quite mesmerising.

Her work, Peacock Feathers is a prime example.  Worked in large wooden hoops on a black background, the colours of the feathers on the dark background just ‘pop’.

It’s a winning combination, colour, texture and pattern – and seen large, it’s visually stunning.

Now I’m going to finish with a British art eco-activist – a maker of gentle protest works – Lydia Needle.

A member of Seam Collective Lydia was the Lead Artist and Curator of ‘Fifty Bees: The Interconnectedness of All Things’, so anyone at all interested in pollination and our environment will be interested in Lydia’s work about bees which is what I’m focussing on here.

Lydia began with the idea of creating 50 bees herself, then decided to invite 50 collaborative artists to present work surrounding those bee’s ecology – what’s interesting are the varied companion artworks offered such as one referencing mud pockets made by one bee species used for their larvae or the flowers discovered by a Parson on his walks in 1797 offering pollen to another bee species.

It’s a fascinating theme for an exhibition.  Lydia’s felted and embroidered bees are presented beautifully in tiny tin boxes, wooden boxes, antique jewellery presentation boxes or vintage watchmaker’s containers with see-through lids, and the companion artworks appear to flesh out the story around the 50 varieties of bees Lydia has worked with.

Not only did I learn more about bees in Britain, it made me want to research bees in Australia and species that live near where I live.

Wow, I feel like we’ve been all around the world for sixpence in this episode, but it’s been a great episode to research.

People love nature and respond to it differently, and it shows in their work. So whether you go down the macro route, the Tambour beading route, the loveable spider route, the beautiful beetle route, or the endangered bee route, these insects offer much scope for a variety of embroidered art and techniques that I almost want to begin something right now.

The big plus here is that we learn more about some of the endangered species as we research them before stitching, and I think that’s a really good thing.

I’ve included links to all these artists in these show notes on the Stitch Safari website, so check them out.

There’s such creative and amazing work being done in this wonderful world of ours and it’s a privilege to be able to share it with you all.  I hope you enjoy it.