“The Art of Breathing Life into Lace”: Organic Embroidery by Meredith Woolnough

Meredith Woolnough is an internationally acclaimed Australian visual artist from Newcastle, celebrated for her stunning sculptural embroideries that capture the delicate beauty of nature through intricate thread work.

Her practice combines art, science, and natural history; she uses freehand machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric to create lace-like forms inspired by coral, leaves, fungi, and anatomical structures. Once the base fabric dissolves, only her fine stitched “skeletons” remain—ethereal works that seem suspended between fragility and resilience. Woolnough’s art has been exhibited internationally in over 40 shows, and her large-scale installation The New Neighbours—composed of 412 embroidered pieces pinned into a circular formation—was featured at ‘The Third Tamworth Textile Triennial.’ Her book ‘Organic Embroidery’ and workshops have inspired artists worldwide, while her social media presence connects over 300,000 followers to new series, process videos, and studio insights that merge craftsmanship with environmental consciousness.

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