Harriet Hawtry-Coombs

Ephemeral beauty tells a story of the beauty in the temporary, inspired by the fragile beauty of cut flowers in Harriet’s garden. She wanted to capture fleeting beauty, the feeling that time is passing but through stitch it can be frozen in motion.

Harriet explores the interweaving relationship of people and flora through collecting observational watercolours, she is particularly drawn to irises for their remarkable beauty and short life span, as soon as they blossom they begin to wilt and decay, they teach us that life is temporary and should be appreciate beauty in the moment.

The process of painting on fabric forms her foundation but as paint is washed away embroidery becomes a tool to evoke the feeling of transience. Thread allows Harriet to interpret the different tones and hues hidden within each petal, thread allows her to play with motion, gesture and direction, while golden portraits are hidden within the layers of thread. She aims to create the intimate feeling of a delicate flower in your hand, relying on that same sense of touch through embroidery. Stitch by stitch, emotion becomes tangled with the subject, rooted far beyond the painted surface.