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Many artists take inspiration from nature, but few use it as their canvas. However, UK-based artist Susanna Bauer combines her crocheting skills with the beauty of organic materials and breathes new life into dead, fallen leaves through her unique designs. Her work features brown leaves that are carefully cleaned before Bauer expertly pierces them with a needle and thread, weaving intricate patterns into the fallen foliage. The result resembles the dainty, delicate patterns often found in old-fashioned lacework.
This form of needlework requires careful focus, making Bauer’s choice for canvas even more interesting, as the leaves she works with are already brittle and prone to breakage. However, the relationship between her materials holds a deeper significance for the artist, as her creative process is a constant battle.
“There is a fine balance in my work between fragility and strength; literally, when it comes to pulling a fine thread through a brittle leaf or thin dry piece of wood, but also in a wider context—the tenderness and tension in human connections, the transient yet enduring beauty of nature that can be found in the smallest detail, vulnerability and resilience that could be transferred to nature as a whole or the stories of individual beings,” Bauer says.
The artist uses many different types of leaves in her work. She seems to have a particular affinity for the oval-shaped magnolia leaf, but also uses other unique shapes, including ginkgo and fatsia leaves. Bauer also plays with depth and size in her work, often layering smaller leaves over their larger counterparts to imitate growth.
Those interested in seeing Bauer’s work in person are in luck, as the artist has an upcoming show at the Affordable Art Fair in Austin, Texas at the Palmer Events Center from May 16 to May 19. Her first monography, Susanna Bauer, is also now available for purchase.
Fiber artist Susanna Bauer combines beautiful crochet techniques with nature.
She does this by decorating fallen leaves with fine crocheted lace.
Due to the delicate nature of her canvas and the exact tension that lacework requires, each piece is a testament to the relationship between fragility and strength.
Bauer has also published her first monograph, which is a wonderful showcase of her incredible art.
Susanna Bauer: Website | Facebook | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Susanna Bauer.
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