Stephanie K. Clark’s embroideries are much more than that. Blurring the lines between fine art and craft, she uses her sewing machine as a tool that allows her to “paint” with thread (incidentally, Clark defines herself as “thread painter”).
“I consider myself a painter and I paint with thread,” she writes on her website. “The process of transforming string into art struck me as something visually stimulating with complex simplicity.” The result is striking, if baffling, and Clark admits she likes when people mistake her work for a “simple painting”. That is, until they examine it.
But mistaking her art for painting is only reasonable, considering Clark’s background. Having graduated in Painting and Drawing from the University of Utah, it was actually during her studies that she discovered a passion for embroidery and thread drawings.
“My background in painting has allowed me to explore the material using techniques from the worlds of drawing and painting,” she admits. “Engaging both traditional and innovative techniques in employing formal qualities with density, texture, and pattern.”
Step right in.
