hillary waters fayle stitches + embroiders leaves with botanical patterns

richmond-based artist hillary waters fayle has unveiled her latest work where she combines her expertise of fibers and textiles with leaves and plant material that she gathers around the city. aptly titled botanical stitchwork, the artworks feature leaves and other bits of organic material stitched and embroidered with thread and needle, immortalizing and embellishing an already precious natural object.

images by hillary waters fayle

‘I want to salvage and revive our connection to the natural world,’ comments hillary waters fayle. ‘I study textile and printmaking traditions and processes, using them in collaboration with found botanical and organic material to symbolically bind nature and the human touch. these botanical embroideries and blueprints are born of my desire to illuminate this connection and my curiosity about the overlapping of spiritual and religious symbology and sacred geometry, with patterns that exist in nature. now more than ever, it feels paramount to inspire a shifted perspective on the way we view the natural world; to explore and appreciate what is so often overlooked and to realize the potential for existence in balance with nature.’

sustainability is a big part of hillary waters fayles work, who says she uses leaves because they leave no footprint. the thread she uses is not bought but otherwise found or gifted, including some by her grandmother. by stitching the leaves, the artist is binding nature with human touch, through delicate cuts and punctures that result in a new object. the artist also says that she wants people to take a closer look into leaves and not just pass them by. 

follow this link to discover more flower and leaf art on designboom.

project info:

name: botanical stitchwork

artist: hillary waters fayle

webpage: here

instagram: here