Sara Joy Rickard’s Embroidery

Sara Joy Rickard Talks about her Embroidery

After several years planning I left my career in art education

I decided to

return to my roots in embroidery and began to build a collection of my own work that reflects the

passion that had been dormant for some years

Ideas are fast and furious, there never seems enough time in a day.

Pieces are worked on several at a time following a variety of themes. Mystical creatures, magical birds and forest animals set against traditional and not so familiar landscapes.

I take inspiration from regular research visit to galleries and museums in London, Bristol and Gloucestershire. Several works resulted from a

visit to Kelmscott Manor and the British Museum.

Having entered the EG national touring exhibition ‘Page 17’ I was delighted when my work

‘The Ladybird Book of Pond Birds’ was bought for a public collection by Grantham Museum.

This then led to a series based on

my own imaginary book covers. ‘Field Friends’ and ‘Seven Boar’, (a play on words) are examples.

Living in the Forest of Dean the beauty of the natural environment has permeated. An emerging series of Forest pieces based on Rewilding, encouraging nature to develop biodiversity and to support climate change.

These pieces, with a sense of humour, aim to raise awareness and consider our role in what we can all do to create a more sustainable world.

In ‘Silent Roar I and Silent Roar II’ the lion in is of course a symbol, as king of the jungle, or the forest, he represents power and a force for good. He is supporting the

spreading of seeds by roaring to expel and scatter them.

‘Tally Ho Ho’ features a foxrunning through the forest but instead of being chased he is being ridden by

a rabbit who is dressed up in huntsman’s clothes and blowing a trumpet full of seeds. This piece is mostly machine embroidered onto layers of translucent voiles to create the forest flora and fauna. In this imaginary world of rewilding the forest floor begins to flourish with new growth.

I use an ancient Bernina Minimatic sewing machine with a free foot to build up layers of stitching sometimes cutting back layers of voile and sometimes adding small pieces.

Vintage tray cloths are often used as grounds to stich on. Sometimes several are combined as in ‘Mr Fancy Fox Smelling the Flowers’.

In machine embroidered pieces traycloths are often half hidden behind layers of voiles but hint at a forest/garden.

During Lockdown a pheasant kept visiting the garden, always strutting and making a loud noise he was quite a character.

At the same time

our cat occasionally

brought in mice as ‘presents’. I wanted to celebrate the lives of these creatures (not always dead) and ‘Summertime Lament’ developed.

One wood mouse has for fun dressed up, rides his new friend – the pheasant – to help him scatter the seeds for the summer whilst his mate plays the fiddle, surrounded by the flourishing forest floor of flowers, creating music for their rewilding antics.

Pine Martens

were reintroduced to the Forest of Dean in Autumn 2019. They are secretive animals that cover a huge territory so are rarely sighted.

They eat a variety of vegetation as well as bird’s eggs and grey squirrels. Naturally such an interesting animal caught my imagination.

My current series feature a ‘Mr Fine Marten’ dressed in his Sunday best jacket and top hat, wondering which route to take in the forest. Another ‘Night time Manoeuvres’ has a squirrel riding a pine marten to scatter the seeds for re wildling. ‘A Gift of Love’, depicts a meeting of a wood mouse with a pine marten, surrounded by brambles. This machine embroidered and collage piece aims to make people think, smile and hopefully enjoy the work.

To contact Sara Rickard

Email:- sarajrickard@gmail.com Web:-www.sarajoyrickard.com Instagram:- sarajoyrickard Watch Sara’s work on youtube