The Three Trees by Alexis Kelly

About this project: "This is a hand-sewn embroidery of an image of three trees in the 70-metre, early medieval Bayeux Tapestry, located in Normandy, France. The Bayeux Tapestry presents a fascinating and detailed narrative of the events and battles culminating in the Norman conquest of England. I bought this embroidery kit from a delightful little shop, Bayeux Broderie, while travelling in August 2011. I've always been impressed by this business' ingenuity in reproducing the traditional stitching techniques and images from the tapestry for anyone to render. Initially daunted by learning the stitches and striking across the blank cloth, I sewed hesitantly until it started flowing more easily in 2017-18. Since May 2019, when I completed the outlines of the piece, it has taken another year for me to fill in the images, and complete the piece in another time of upheaval. I've  found the act of fine stitching incredibly meditative and soothing, as my respect and wonder at the effort involved in creating the tapestry has grown. I've enjoyed the sensation of stitching across time and imagining the medieval embroiderers' lives and motivations. While this image is a mere divider between tapestry scenes, I chose it because I wanted to spend my time and focus bringing to life an image from nature; a symbol of hope and renewal for our future."

Scroll down to see this entry and to find out more about the contributing artist.

About the artist: "Alexis Kelly is an editor and writer currently studying the Master of Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing. In her spare time she loves doing embroidery to focus and calm her mind, and sews cushions and quilts that often end up featuring flowers and birds. Her obsession with anything medieval or 'Tudor' related has carried over into this work and an interest in the role of sewing in history."

We asked, our artists answered: why does creativity matter now? "Creativity offers me a chance to meditate on colour, patterns, ideas, relationships and life. It constantly challenges my perfectionism by teaching me to take projects and visions one step at a time and accept imperfect results. Sewing has helped me to develop problem solving skills as I work out how to construct projects or hide mistakes (including nibbles from my pet rabbits!). The respite and expansiveness offered by creativity are central to wellbeing, affirmation and connection between people."