Birds have been fascinating artists for centuries, as an eternal symbol of freedom and escapism. Many artists have tried to capture their beauty through their work, and Paulina Bartnik is certainly succeeding, using nothing but needle and thread to get things done.
Bartnik is a multidisciplinary artist from Poland, who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. She’s interested in everything from graphics and painting to embroidery, and she often puts birds front and center in her work.
Her fascination with embroidery started when she found a book about Polish folk embroidery as a teenager. She decided to train herself to stitch together similar patterns, and it came naturally to her because she had a background in other fields of art, but she eventually abandoned embroidery and only returned to it when she was older.
Most of Bartnik’s art these days is inspired by birds because she finds them special and fascinating. She enjoys exploring their beauty through her art, and she usually cuts bird shapes from felt sheets before embordering them to make sure they’re as life-like as possible.
“I chose birds because of the beautiful colors, shapes, and texture of feathers. To embroider them, I mainly use the needle painting technique, which I think perfectly imitates bird feathers,” the artist told My Modern Met.
