GRACE RICHARDSON
2024
26 cm x 22 cm x 29 cm 
willow, silk ribbon, silk chenille thread, silk organza, wire, wooden beads, merino wool
 
Vessel #2 (Spring) combines willow weaving with traditional embroidery techniques, featuring delicate buds beginning to bloom as life begins the process of rebirth in the spring. 
 
"Vessels of Resurgence” was inspired by a personal story told to Grace by a former coworker in Boise, Idaho. Chris was an artist who enjoyed cycling in the foothills every day, consistently taking the same path. During a seasonal swarm of crickets, he began to note how the crickets started to approach him over time. Slowly, they became so accustomed to him that they would begin to crawl up his legs. When Chris suddenly passed a year later, Grace could not shake the imagery of him returning to the foothills and disappearing into the desert terrain. 
A collection of woven willow sculptures, “Vessels of Resurgence” explores the inevitable decay and rebirth in nature through embroidery and contemporary basket weaving. Pulling inspiration from eco-burial and traditional shrouds, the collection symbolizes the ways in which nature overtakes after death. There is no clear start or finish, each form transitioning into the next until the cycle begins again. The scale of each woven sculpture is intimate, inviting the viewer to touch and hold the vessel close to the body. 
 
By weaving willow randomly in different cocoon-like shapes, Grace creates wild forms which look as though they may have sprouted up from the ground. She features natural materials that might also be used for burial shrouds – such as linen, cotton, and wool. Each vessel comes to life by utilizing traditional embroidery techniques to create 3D embroidered flora which sprout out of the willow.
 
Grace Richardson is a contemporary textile artist based in London and the U.S. Her socially aware practice explores the beauty found in the mundane moments of the everyday. “Vessels of Resurgence”, her current body of work, explores the inevitable decay and rebirth of nature, depicted through hand embroidery and willow weaving. Taking inspiration from eco-burial and traditional burial shrouds, the collection symbolizes the ways in which nature takes over after death. Grace is a recent graduate from the Royal School of Needlework with a B.A. (Hons) in Hand Embroidery.
 
Please contact Grace for commissions:
Gracerembroidery@gmail.com