Rach Gooden at Stitch and Bone is based in Rural Australia. She describes here work as “an amalgamation of my fascination and awe of the natural world, in particular insects, and my love of creating pieces made out of beautiful materials.” As well as creating beautiful textile art she aims “to ignite a spark of curiosity back into these little critters.”

Firstly where do you create?

All pieces are designed and delicately stitched and framed by my own hands in my home at my trusty work desk.   

What is your background in textiles?

When it comes to textiles I am completely self taught however art has been a constant component in my life – I have dabbled in any art form I could get my hands on! From exploring on my own to tinkering around with Graphic Design, Photography and Fine Arts at university I cannot help but be drawn to anything creative. My sister came home one day with a variety of hoops and threads for her new hobby and I decided to give it a go too.

What is it about embroidery that appeals to you?

If you had told me 5-10 years ago that I would enjoy embroidery as a creative outlet I probably would not have believed you. I never really had any inclination to dip my toe into it as I thought it to be too slow, boring, traditional and ‘old lady’ – all things that would drive me insane. I am glad to say that times have changed – the slow nature of embroidery is one of the things I enjoy (although it can drive me a little insane sometimes). I like that there is a thoughtfulness to it – everything is deliberately chosen when it comes to the materials picked, where the stitch is placed and the how it is designed – and when you look closely at a handmade piece you are reminded of the hands that made it. There are no limits as to how you can interpret this traditional craft (something my younger self didn’t realise) and if I had seen the contemporary and modern spin that artists are injecting into their embroidery works earlier in life I probably would have gotten on the bandwagon much sooner. 

How do you describe your work? 

I would describe my work as an amalgamation of my fascination and awe of the natural world, in particular insects, and my love of creating pieces made out of beautiful materials. My creations are not designed to be realistic replicas but rather fantastical representations  – “dressed-up” versions of an insect shape that have been embellished and adorned with beautiful beads, fabrics, threads and Swarovski crystals. 

Whilst my work embraces facets of traditional stumpwork embroidery I endeavour to create pieces that embody modern elements, with the aim being to hopefully bring this intricate and established art-form into the present day through heirloom pieces that will hopeful be loved and treasured forever – and perhaps become a part of someone else’s collection. 

Did you start embroidering insects or did this theme arise over time?

My very first embroideries were actually of insects but were ‘flat’ images. I did three flat embroideries (which were quite frankly not that great) before transitioning into stumpwork. I was inspired by images I had seen on the Internet of all sorts of creations that were literally popping off the material – I was drawn to the amalgamation of metal threads, wires, fabrics of all kinds, beads, crystals and thread work. I enjoyed the process of working out just how I could construct these little critters – it was something that took a while and quite a lot of failed attempts before getting a base process that I can now fine tune depending on the individual design of each work. 

Why did you choose to embroider insects? 

To me they are endlessly fascinating – all the different shapes, sizes and colours is just amazing and a never-ending source of inspiration.

I find that insects create quite the dual reaction – to some, such as myself, they are absolutely beautiful and engrossing but to others they trigger the reaction of ‘oh my god, get those creepy crawlies away from me’. A couple of years ago my parents gifted me with my first framed taxidermy insect for my birthday and since then I continue to receive more every birthday and Christmas that comes around. I absolutely love them and they inspired me to try and attempt my own version – I had this image in my head of some of my own framed stumpwork fantastical representations of beetles hanging in their own frames next to the real bugs. The funny thing is that I have had so many people who recoil from all insects and insect related things say that they love my pieces because they ‘don’t have the creepy insect element.’

More often than not we overlook these crucial and under-appreciated inhabitants of the natural world and my aim is to ignite a spark of curiosity back into these little critters. My hope is that my work will not only incite the imagination but also inspire and speak to others, encouraging people to see them in a more favourable light and take a closer look.

Can you briefly describe the process of how you create a piece?

My design process usually starts one of two ways – either I find an insect shape that speaks to me in one of my many books (in particular vintage insect illustration books) or I create my complete colour palette of fabrics, beads, crystals and threads. It all depends of what catches my eye first – form or materials. I am not one to sketch out an idea, do a sample or do anything that is probably known as good planning. Instead I tend to get a really strong visual in my mind and I just work off that. That visual almost never changes from start to finish and the details in the finished piece are almost always spot on with what I first visualised.

From there I plan out how I am going to construct the 3D body along with getting the shape, size, placement, proportions and all the little details ironed out. From then on it is just many, many, many hours/days/weeks/months bent over a hoop trying to get everything exactly how I envision it! I always seem to work on the wings first before moving on to the body, then the legs, the beading and all the little finishing touches.

What type of stitches do you use?

I would say the stitch that features predominantly in each of my pieces is the French Knot – how I love a good French Knot. They add such a beautiful texture to the wings and lend themselves to the blending of colours really well. For the insect legs I do a bit of Thread Painting. My style of Thread Painting is not as uniform as what you see in tutorial books and it tends to be a bit more like it would be if I were drawing with a pencil – threads going in different directions and creating lots of layers. I think it creates more shape and dimension. 

As I am self-taught in Embroidery/Stumpwork my knowledge of stitches is not that extensive. I have learnt what I have needed to in order to achieve the specific look I am after but in all honesty most of what I do is improvised. I think that lack of knowledge is something that has worked in my favour a little bit – I am not constrained by how things are ‘supposed’ to be done and that adds a bit of freedom with how I create these little critters.

I know it is hard to answer but roughly how long does one piece take?

There are so many factors that influence the time it takes to create one of these little critters – size, shape, level of detail and whether or not there are multiple designs all play a part. However, I would say the average time for a single ‘medium’ size insect (one that is designed to fit in a 23cm x 23cm frame) is roughly 25  – 30 hours and that does not include the time taken to frame it. 

How do people purchase your work?

Currently I am working on getting my online shop up and running – fingers crossed it will be ready to go sooner rather than later! That being said if anyone is wanting to purchase a piece they have seen on Instagram or are looking to perhaps get a piece made in the meantime they are more than welcome to reach out through Instagram or email me at stitch_and_bone@outlook.com. 

Is there anything you would like to add? 

I can honestly say that when I started this little venture I didn’t think anyone would like what I do so to have the response it has had is just beyond anything I could have thought. To have people actually reach out to me and tell me they are drawn to these little critters is just amazing So I am very thankful for everything and I look forward to a future filled with the continued creating of these little critters! 

https://www.instagram.com/stitch_and_bone