Stumpwork Butterflies & Moths

Description

This specimen box contains eighteen specimens - ten moths and eight butterflies- from the order Lepidoptera. Jane's aim was to produce a specimen box of `Jewels", with complete disregard for size and proportion: to selected moth and butterfly specimens for interest and colour-not the most familiar and to use a wide assortment of materials to interpret these insects. This brief provided Jane with the opportunity to employ a variety of techniques to work the detached wings, from surface embroidery in lustrous silks for the Indian Moon Moth, to hand dyed silk fabric for the purple fucshia butterfly and even to try stitching clear plastic for the Glasswing Butterfly.

Jane Nicholas has worked in the field of embroidery for over twenty years, specialising in stumpwork and goldwork embroidery. She has written five books and has contributed widely to journals and magazines. She teaches widely for Embroiderers' Guilds and businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, and continues to research and develop new techniques, particularly in stumpwork.