I was born in Ukraine, and cross stitch has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, my father was the who taught me as a child. I moved to the UK eleven years ago, and for a long-time stitching sat quietly in the background of my life. It wasn’t until a few years ago, going through some old things of mine, that I remembered how much it used to calm me, and I picked up the needle again.
Around the same time, just as the war in Ukraine began, I came across Brodivske pysmo, which is a regional Ukrainian embroidery tradition where the stitched pattern itself carries a hidden message, a kind of coded record of a community’s identity. That discovery changed how I saw my own practice completely. What had been a quiet, personal habit became something I wanted to take seriously as art.
My work now sits between abstract geometric design and Ukrainian folk motif. I’m drawn to how many different cultures share similar cross-stitch patterns and shapes, and I love seeing how each culture interprets the same underlying forms differently. Colour and shape are central to what I make, not just visually, but for what they carry: the symbolism held in a colour choice, a pattern, a combination.
I’m currently studying psychology alongside my art practice, and I’m researching how Ukrainian folk embroidery can be reinterpreted through contemporary textile art, including stitching on paper. Longer term, I’d like to explore this heritage with Ukrainians who’ve come to the UK since 2022, many carry this tradition but have had little chance to pass it on to a younger generation growing up here.
I’d love for you to take a closer look at the patterns in my work, as each one carries a little more meaning than it first appears to.