My love for rocks were inspired by the book 'Everybody Needs A Rock' by Byrd Baylor, just like the author, I collect rocks, stones and pebbles. For me, they are something I often pick up as souvenirs from travels. I love how these naturally occurring phenomenon are common enough to be found anywhere, yet each is unique in its own way.
With this collection of Embroidered Rocks, I explore how to work with rocks using textile manipulation techniques of felting and embroidery. It is a way of transforming these ordinary rocks into precious keepsakes, while at the same time, the beautiful forms of the original bare rocks still shows through.
I was also intrigued to realise how often rocks are used as metaphors in writings and shows. 
My first embroidered rock - wrapped around a stone I picked up from the Mekong River.
Finding a rock Rule No. 6: "The size must be perfect. It has to feel easy in your hand when you close your fingers over it. It has to feel jumpy in your pocket when you run."
- 'Everybody Needs a Rock' by Byrd Baylor
- 'Everybody Needs a Rock' by Byrd Baylor
"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."
- Michelangelo
I was recalling this quote as I stitched... Sometimes, the broken stones make the most beautiful pieces, it is discovering how best to work with their imperfections.
- Michelangelo
I was recalling this quote as I stitched... Sometimes, the broken stones make the most beautiful pieces, it is discovering how best to work with their imperfections.
Using a embroidery stitch to cover up a hole in the felt
Reimagining the stone stacks of The Garden of Morning Calm in Korea. In the original stone stacks, each stone represents a wish from a traveller.
stone wishes. I love that.
"Long ago, before writing, you'd send someone a stone that suited how you were feeling. From its weight and touch, they'd know how you felt. From a smooth stone, they might get that you were happy. Or from a rough one that you were worried about them."
- The idea of Stone Letters from the film ‘Departures’
- The idea of Stone Letters from the film ‘Departures’
Packing the rocks in reused envelopes (the kind with patterns inside to hide bills and private letters from prying eyes...) to tie in the with the idea of stone letters.
A poem by artist Josef Albers:
easy - to know
that diamonds - are precious
good - to learn
that rubies - have depth
but more - to see
that pebbles - are miraculous
easy - to know
that diamonds - are precious
good - to learn
that rubies - have depth
but more - to see
that pebbles - are miraculous
