Textile artist Nicola Henley hopes to draw attention through her art to the delicate balance of nature and the inter-dependence and connectivity between ourselves and our natural environment. A delicate balance between weaving, embroidery, and print, her artwork features birds surrounded by a seemingly abstract landscape.
“I am continually inspired by the natural world but in particular birds and their movement within the landscape and coastal regions,” Henley explains on her website. “I love studying how they move across the sky and interact with air currents and wave motion, or their distinctive characteristic movement as they feed along shorelines or flock to feeding grounds.”
Her pieces are made by a combination of dying, painting with pigments and screen-printing onto cotton calico, and then texturing the surface with various materials. Using machine and hand stitch, Henley applies fragments of Japanese paper, found paper (which she handprints), dyed muslin, and bits of silk.
Large, spacious areas of printed and painted surface contrast with small stitched details, representative of delicate birds in their wild natural environment and the contrast between intricate detail and the vast expanse of surrounding space.
The end result is both striking and thought-provoking. Take a look for yourself:
