Pop-art stitcher Claire Mort uses one or two strands of embroidery thread at a time to create finely stitched pictures that make quite a statement. AKA “Pop Goes the Stitch,” the award-winning British textile artist has exhibited nationally and has worked on collections in Europe, Australia, and the United States.
Like many artists, her route to becoming a creative was not an easy one. She told Textile Artist she’s always been attracted to textiles, “I have always stitched and played about with fabric from as early as I can remember,” adding that she was influenced by her mom’s creations of jumpers and cardigans from balls of wool. Growing up she enjoyed going to wool shops with her mom and taking in the rich smell of fabric, the sight of ribbons and buttons, and the piles of wool stacked up.
She suffered some setbacks and from self-doubt, causing her to hide for nearly two decades. After hearing that her work was too simple from her local art gallery curator, she was driven to keep creating and committed to working on her craft full-time.
Mort’s influence comes from the world around her and her experiences. She’s inspired by social media and the changes she sees in the world since her childhood including the #metoo movement, 100 years of suffrage, advertising, and typography.
Each embroidery takes around 150 hours, and we can see all the hard work she puts into each piece.
Check out some her work below. What do you think?
