I came to embroidery in my mid-forties after becoming disabled with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
I was a composer/performer and writer but with the overwhelming fatigue of ME/CFS I needed to find something less taxing as a creative outlet. I sewed from a young age and did some traditional Ukrainian cross-stitch in my teens, so embroidery felt like a good option.
Research for my liver piece, tethered by fluid & ligaments (2023)
I wasn’t especially interested in the embroidery patterns I saw online—I am not a flowery person—so I started stitching some of the digital SciArt text/image pieces I had made before becoming ill. With my first piece I was hooked. Embroidering anatomy and my symptoms followed soon after. In this article, I’ll guide you through my process from inspiration through to completion.
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Photo credits Lia Pas.
