Stephanie K. Clark
Utah-based artist Stephanie K. Clark considers herself a painter, but the works she creates are not made with a traditional painterly medium. Using embroidery techniques and strands of floss in a spectrum of colors, Clark paints little houses, landscapes, and other scenes that look as if they exist in the natural world and are being lit by the moon or sun.
“My process is much like any painter,” Stephanie tells Colossal. “I started out as a drawer/painter and I’ve just carried that same process into my embroidery work. I always use image and color references for my pieces. I lay out my pallet of thread/floss and I start laying the colors as if I’m painting. They eventually start blending themselves.”
Working at various scales (as small as 5″ x 5″, and as large as 6-foot-wide canvases), Clark says that the time invested depends on the size and detail of the piece, with small houses taking between 6 to 12 hours to complete, and larger landscapes requiring up to 20 hours. “I consider myself a fast worker for embroidery,” she explained, “which tends to be slow and tedious. Sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down and when I do, the pieces come out so much prettier.”
When not working on commissions, Clark’s thread paintings are inspired by her personal life: “My concepts typically go along with my life, my family, my home, and my heart.”
