Bird-Inspired Embroideries are a Unexpectedly Contemplative Look at Our “True” Selves

Amy Jones finds inspi­ra­tion in our feath­ered friends, and her love of birds is at the fore­front of her embroi­dery art. The New Zealand-based artist stitch­es dis­tin­guished por­traits of bud­gies that offer a tra­di­tion­al view of them. She also cre­ates anoth­er type of homage that’s off­beat, curi­ous, and allur­ing; fash­ion­ing birds as masks, her stitched peo­ple wear their col­or­ful feath­ers and point­ed beaks over their faces. They are devoid of a back­ground, and the fig­ures exist in an in-between space.

The result­ing hoop art are por­traits that sym­bol­ize the dilem­mas that each of us faces every day—what do we show the world? Our true inner selves, or a col­or­ful dis­tract­ing mask?

Amy sells her work in her Etsy shop, Cheese Before Bed­time.

Through colorful embroidery art, Amy Jones creates portraits of budgies…

… as well as alluring bird-inspired masks.