Anne McKenzie Nickolson

My work of recent years has documented various scenes from my life. The works, embroidered on pieced grosgrain ribbon, highlight my love of the beauty of stitching and the commitment that these meditative stitches require. The strips of ribbon create a bold background for these tiny images. Initially, I chose images that had a strong impact on me, that are seared into my memory, that I think convey a universality that the viewer can also appreciate.

More recently, I have focused more and more on artworks that I have experienced in person and viewers of these artworks. Looking carefully at something can be a transformative experience causing me to see myself, other people and the world differently. I see connections of dress, movement, gesture and emotion that bring an immediacy to the work, in spite of the years separating the artwork’s creation from today’s view. Similarly with nature and ancient cultures, I see myself in a geological perspective, in awe of what has come before, and I am interested in how I and others can interact with these scenes.