Friday Inspiration - Diem Chau's Embroidery

Grasp, 2010.  Porcelain plate, organza, and thread.

I was looking at embroidery artists, searching for inspiration, when I found the work of Seattle area artist Diem Chau.  She works simple threads embroidered on organza and mounted on found porcelain dishware.  The simplicity of her pieces (and I mean simplicity as in uncluttered and tightly composed) made me catch my breath ... in her embroidered images, there is the hint of deep stories that one can almost feel.  The more I look at them, the more inspired I am! 

Braids.  Porcelain bowl, silk, threads.

In Chau's artist statement, she talks about how the stories that inspire her as those passed "from grandmother to mother, from father to sons" and talks about the "delight and anticipation" she feels as she listens to the storytellers who inspire her.

Gift, 2010.  Porcelain plate, organza, thread.

   





 After returning to her website several times to pour over her works, I'm also struck by how she uses the thread that is her medium as a metaphor for the thread that connects us all and that also connects us to the past.  Be sure to take a look at her many pieces!  I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for any upcoming exhibitions she's showing her work in.