The age-old art of embroidery has gone even more creative, as many embroidery artists introduce new styles and colors to it. However, Vera Shimunia, a Russian embroidery artist, not only uses the traditional simple line work but also uses threads of vibrant colors to create amazing brushstroke textures with blends of colors.
It’s simply a delight to see her artistic embroidery designs much in the style of Van Gogh’s landscape paintings. Her landscape art, using expertly stitched colorful thread, captures the vibrant beauty of nature. Her impressive colorful skies, swirls of clouds, streams of sunrays in vivid colors and rich textures seem nothing less than oil on canvas.
What comes as a surprise is that Shimunia is completely self-taught. And her motivation to take this up was her boyfriend, a member of the art community. When she made her first piece of embroidery and sent it to him, he replied, “You did this? So cool.” This encouraged her to continue.
Nature and music are what inspire Shimunia, but what she does isn’t easy. Sometimes, the picture in her head doesn’t coincide with what she has created, forcing her to start all over again. Little wonder it takes anywhere between three days to a month to create a single piece, depending upon its intricate detailing.
It took Shimunia almost six months to make her embroidery artworks public. But when she did, there was no looking back. The moment she published her embroidery experiments on Instagram, she started receiving queries, “Can I buy it?” Of course, she agrees and why not.
Shimunia’s work continues to evolve and become even more intricate. Most of her landscape scene is small in size, but she also creates miniatures that are no bigger than a fingertip. In her latest works, she has merged textile art with photography to create incredible surreal landscapes. Currently, she has over 213,000 followers on Instagram.
Vera Shimunia
