How an Embroiderer Honors the National Parks, One Stitch at a Time

This arti­cle was orig­i­nal­ly cre­at­ed for Orts, my week­ly newslet­ter col­lect­ing small snip­pets of cre­ativ­i­ty: embroi­der­ers, tex­tile artists, illus­tra­tors, DIY projects, and how we can make time for our cre­ative endeav­ors. It’s pub­lished every Fri­day. Sub­scribe here!

How do we honor the things that we love? That was a question I sought to answer when writing my book Threads of Treasure. In it, I profiled artists who utilize found objects in their work, assigning meaning to things like leaves, animal skulls, and other items of discard.

But in writ­ing this part of the book, I knew there were oth­er con­sid­er­a­tions to take. What if you’re not a col­lec­tor of things? Some­times tak­ing a sou­venir isn’t an option. In that case, a pho­to­graph is a way to trea­sure that spe­cial some­thing or some­where. It can also be the cat­a­lyst for orig­i­nal art. Embroi­dery artist Shan­non Moser was great to talk to for this very reason.

Creating under the name Native Sage Threads, Shannon produces hoop art inspired by some of the greatest lands—the U.S. National Parks. She works in mixed media to produce pieces that are as beautiful as they are meaningful to her.

I asked Shan­non to share a bit more about her work. Hear more from her below, and check out her Insta­gram to see what she’s work­ing on next.

How would you describe your work to some­one who has nev­er seen it?

I stitch embroi­dery land­scapes inspired by our nation­al parks and pub­lic lands using thread, yarn, beads, and water­col­ors. These mixed media pieces are a col­or­ful rep­re­sen­ta­tions of the beau­ti­ful world we live in.

What is your favorite thing about your work?

My favorite thing about my work is my atten­tion to detail. I love adding lit­tle ele­ments to my work that peo­ple will find the longer they look at a piece, that they might not see upon first glance.

What inspires you the most?

Moun­tain and desert land­scapes inspire me the most. I grew up in Col­orado and the moun­tains were always a con­stant view I got. The desert cap­tured my heart when my hus­band and I trav­eled there short­ly after we start­ed dat­ing. I feel at home in these places. The way nature thrives dif­fer­ent­ly in these places fas­ci­nates me.

What do you hope peo­ple take away from see­ing your pieces?

I hope peo­ple are inspired by the land­scapes that I stitch and will want to vis­it these places. The nation­al parks play a huge in my work as well and I hope that they become fas­ci­nat­ed by these unique places and are inspired to take trips and explore them.

What advice do you have for some­one feel­ing intim­i­dat­ed by mak­ing art?

It’s okay to feel that way! It takes some time to feel out a craft or art form that you feel drawn to. I rec­om­mend going to a craft store and brows­ing the many dif­fer­ent forms of art avail­able and if some­thing catch­es your atten­tion, grab some cheap basics and play around. Kits are an easy way to start a new craft because you get all the basic sup­plies you need. I start­ed embroi­dery with a kit I found online!