Cathy Brickhill

New Zealand born artist Cathy Brickhill lives and works in Dairy Flat, near Auckland. A graduate of fashion design, pattern-making, and art illustration, she has a long history of garment making and has studied many traditional embroidery skills and couture beadwork that is present in her works today.

Her artwork is characterised by hyper-realistic, three-dimensional sculptures of flora and fauna. Using only thread and needle, she builds layered works of art that capture not only the beauty, but also the vulnerability of nature. Translating natural forms into sketches and colour studies, these shape the basis of her sculptures. Cathy chooses her thread colours carefully, with great attention to all the small details, so that she can approach subtle traces of decay and imperfection from nature in a life-like way. 

What makes Cathy's work remarkable is the lack of traditional supports; no fabric, no surface. Each object is created purely from a build-up of threads that are pinned with either glass bugle beads or standoffs, allowing the piece to hover above a backing board to create shadow play. She prefers to use thicker polyester and rayon yarns because of their lively texture, but also experiments with cotton, silk, crochet yarn and nylon.

Cathy's love of nature goes beyond the aesthetic. For many years, she has worked as a volunteer at the Department of Conservation in New Zealand, helping to protect endangered bird species and supporting forest restoration projects and pest eradication. Her art is an extension of this involvement,

'I hope that my work, as a reflection of the beauty of nature, invites people to go outside themselves, explore and teach their children about the importance of our natural world.' 

Click here to read 'An Interview with Cathy Brickhill'