You must’ve seen replicas of famous paintings done with paint and brush, but doing so in embroidery is something unique. This feat is accomplished with aplomb by Ira Kutsyna, a Ukrainian stitch enthusiast, who uses her needle with the same dexterity as a paintbrush.
Kutsyna creates miniature replicas in the embroidery of masterpieces by famous painters, such as Van Gogh, Magritte, Monet, Klimt, Munch, and others. Her embroidered brooches and patches bearing these works are hot favorites of people who want to adorn their jackets, bags or jeans with them.
Kutsyna, born in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was always passionate about creating things and loved making them with her hands. So, it wasn’t surprising that as a student cross-stitching caught her fancy and she started making embroidery pieces to adorn her room.
When Kutsyna passed out of school, she enrolled in Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine, and earned a Master’s Degree as an editor. However, her love for embroidery never left her and she continued to pursue it. She honed her skills and once she got going, there was no looking back, as she went on to enthrall her viewers with her creativity. Little wonder she considers taking up embroidery as one of the best decisions of her life.
Kutsyna has made Kyiv her base and she continues to churn out masterly works of embroidery. Nature is one of her biggest inspirations and birds, animals and flora continue to figure in her artwork. What makes her embroidered artwork stand out is her acute sense of colors, textures, and forms. For her, these constitute the foundation for every kind of art.
Kutsyna’s tools for cross-stitch are scissors, needles, and hoops. Framing felt as a base and backing on a hoop, she gets down to work with needle and cotton mouline threads. It’s her creative eye and color sense that infuses life into all her creations. Although what she creates is miniature in size, she still needs to spend on an average a day or two for a brooch and up to five days for a hoop.
Despite the popularity of her work among her fans, Kutsyna remains modest. She has never held any shows or exhibited her artwork in exhibitions, expect for her artwork getting a TV spot once. And she also doesn’t have any YouTube tutorials to offer. However, she does sell her creations on her Etsy shop but asserts that she does embroidery mostly for pleasure and not for money.
Ira Kutsyna: Instagram | Etsy Store