Captivating Stitched Paper Reliefs by Amy Bonsor

I came across the mesmerizing stitched paper art of Amy Bonsor on Instagram and it drew me in immediately... orderly and precise, yet with a flair due to the textural aspect and modern color choices. Even the needle holes add to the overall effect, like tiny beads on a string.

 

 

Amy, who lives in Leicestershire, England, explains that her "textural pieces are inspired by a fascination with pattern, and often draw from nature. Particular inspiration is taken from macro and microscopic imagery."

 

Fallen Leaves

 

Amy is a part-time artist who works in her home studio, but she also has a part-time day job in strategic planning at De Montfort University (very non-art, as she says), not to mention is mum to two young sons. The year has been busy with a flurry of exhibitions and events, but she will use the summer downtime to work on commissions and set up online selling.

 

Each piece is unique as Amy creates a pattern only once. The first step is drawing a template. She uses sturdy paper for the shapes along with a scalpel, protractor, pens, inks, and canvas. Sometimes she stitches by hand with silk or wool, but often machine stitches with cotton thread. A hand punch is used to create the scads of circles that make up many of her designs.

 

It's so tempting to run a hand across the surface and watch the pattern shift!

 

Her art has been shown at UK galleries and she occasionally hosts workshops.

 

Amy's largest framed work to date is 90cm x 35cm (36" x 14"). Usually her square frames measure between 25cm x 25cm (10" x 10") and 50cm x 50cm (20" x 20"). She also creates sculptural stitched paper objects that she calls concertinas.

 

Visit Amy Bonsor's website. You'll find her on Instagram and Facebook.

Want to try your hand at paper stitching? Here's my beginner's tutorial, and check out the inspiring work of these two paper stitchers: Karin Lundström and Sami Lange.