The origins of life and embroidery are lost in time. Embroidery is the art of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Recently members of the Embroiderers’ Guild of Victoria, British Columbia, celebrated their 40th Anniversary by exhibiting their works in the Sussex Place Art Gallery. Some of the women artists who had felt constricted by the traditional style of embroidery, i.e., working on a grid as a format, have been doing Free Form Embroidery where they incorporated the use of new materials such as melted or burned fabrics, layered or painted fabrics, metals such as brass and copper, raku buttons, and different kinds of fibers and textures, on a painted or raw background cotton. These photos display the works of only five women embroiderers from among the many. They are Jo Ann Allan, Diana Caleb, Barbara Gilbert, Susan Purney-Mark, and Dominique Sevin. 12 next › last » 
