Chloe Giordano’s embroideries rely on her background in illustration. In fact, it was during the last year of her illustration degree at the University of the West of England that she began to experiment with what she calls freehand needle painting; meaning, her embroideries rely on her own sketches and illustrations rather than traditional patterns.
“I’m always a bit torn between referring to my work as ‘illustration’ or ‘embroidery’, having gone into it with the mindset of an illustrator and having no background in traditional crafts,” she admitted in an interview with Textile Artist. “And yet, I spend too much time playing around with fabric and sewing needles to feel I can entirely say I’m an illustrator – but I like to think that’s what people find interesting about my art, that it is in a space between embroidery and painting.”
“I think I fell in love with the tactile nature of sewing and working with fabric, but I don’t regret any of the hours spent drawing as it informs how I work now,” she says. “I find I get a sense of satisfaction from working with textiles that I never had with 2D mediums.”
Based in York, Giordano has been wholly dedicated to her craft since graduating in 2011, attracting notable clients such as Penguin, Vintage Books, Bloomsbury, and Liberty. Her embroideries, centered around the natural world. are a product of both references as well as her rich imagination.
Working on unbleached calico that she dyes by hand, as well as single strands of sewing thread (either cotton or polyester), Giordano’s designs are drawn onto the fabric with a vanishing fabric marker; with each of her pieces taking anything between one day and several weeks to complete.
It’s a delicate process, and one that requires much patience, but judging by her finished products – her hard work is well worth the effort.
