12 makezine.com
MADE ON EARTH
THREADING AN EYE IN THE SKY
INSTAGRAM.COM/VICTORIAROSERICHARDS
Stitching stunning sunsets and magnificent maps in miniature form, English embroidery artist
Victoria Rose Richards takes the craft to a new level with the vibrant colors and textures in her works.
Richards, who has autism, began embroidering as a stress-relieving hobby while studying biology at
the University of Exeter in her home county of Devon, England. She graduated in 2019 and still plans
to someday pursue a career in that field, but she decided to continue sewing after realizing how much
joy it brings her. Richards says, “It was something productive I could genuinely enjoy with no strict
expectations and deadlines, no failures as such (because every failed project is just part of learning
your craft!), and I could bring the pictures in my head to life.”
She draws much of her inspiration from the mismatched English landscapes that are filled with
ordered agrarian plots and chaotic countrysides, and often uses a top-down perspective to center a
bird’s-eye view of the land. Now a full-time artist for the foreseeable future, Richards’ formal training in
ecology and soil biology helps shape her artwork, as does her overall enthusiasm for all things nature.
As an artist whose needlework spans a variety of sizes, from 2-inch canvases to 10-inch hoops,
Richards admits that she has some physical challenges making larger pieces. Besides the constant
pricking of fingers, she finds that hoop stands and clamps don’t suit her personal embroidery methods
very well, so she has to hold her pieces up herself while she works. This places a lot of unnecessary
stress on her hand and finger muscles, and she worries that too many large projects could result in
long-term hand injuries.
Still, that doesn’t stop Richards from remaking the English countryside in thread form, and she
encourages others to do the same. “Don’t be scared to experiment!” she says to those inspired by her
works. “You need to go outside your comfort zone and potentially make bad art to make better art later
on … [but] first and foremost your art should make you happy to create.” —Marshall Piros
Victoria Rose Richards
James Cook
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