Lady Slipper Black

“Tropical Garden: Lady Slipper Black” embodies the essence of a lush tropical garden through intricate hand embroidery. Centered on the mysterious Lady Slipper Orchid, the artwork blends textures and colors inspired by its dual nature. Incorporating traditional Russian with contemporary techniques, the composition features stumpwork, tambour, and . Utilizing hand-dyed threads, metallic accents, beads, and sequins, this piece offers a creative interpretation of craftsmanship, balancing flat and voluminous elements seamlessly.

Black Orchid is my favorite flower

The very first discovery was that black orchid can be a Lady Slipper. Probably, this discovery affected the color palette choice for the first panel.

Originally, I’ve planned this composition as 0.1 – the test of idea. During the work, I’ve realized that the result looked more than a sample, but complete artwork. Additionally, it became clear that I cannot accommodate all my ideas into one piece. So, I decided to produce a series of outcomes that hold my experiments with color, textures and, above all, my creative interpretation of traditional Russian pearl embroidery.

Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series. Contemporary embroidery
Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series. Contemporary embroidery
Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series. Contemporary embroidery
Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series. Contemporary embroidery
Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series. Contemporary embroidery
Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series. Contemporary embroidery
Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series. Contemporary embroidery
Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series. Contemporary embroidery
Lady Slipper Black wall panel. Tropical Garden Series

Mixing flat and voluminous

The whole composition consists of various hand-embroidered elements: the large stumpwork orchid in the center is flanked by a range of segments made of tambour (Luneville) and needlework techniques.

Interpreting Heritage Creatively

In the composition, ancient pearl embroidery technique – cord sitting – was interpreted through playing with cord color (hand-dyed), its thickness and combining various types of yarns (hand-twisted).

Combining materials

The orchid is a mix of different types of threads such as mohair (including hand-dyed), metallic, cotton, silk and synthetic.

For the flat segments, there were used flat (4mm) sequins, multicolored cotton and synthetic threads, various types of beads (glass and natural stone).

© 2024 Ksenia Semirova. Hand Embroidery Artist