ARTWORK DETAILS

Tahlia Blom Cavendish Road State High School
How much can a koala bear? cross stitch - needle work
There is an embroidered Koala surrounded by pink gum blossoms with piercing wooden arrows on an antique white cotton napkin.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock are the main causes of how climate change is created. As a result of this, our actions are what is killing the animals that we share the land with. “How much can a Koala Bear?” is an embroidery piece that aims to provoke thought about human impact on the environment. The bright colours of red, pink, green and yellow heavily contrast to the neutral beige and greys which ensures the arrows and flowers are emphasised in the piece. The hunting arrows piercing through the koala, symbolises the harm caused by climate and the gum blossoms are there to symbolise hope for the future if we change our actions. Whilst communicating meaning through these elements, the main message can be found from the media of my artwork as embroidery is a dying art, which is a metaphor for the dying animals.

ARTWORK PROCESS

My artwork “How much can a Koala Bear?” was inspired by how human’s negative influence on the environment has created climate change and caused the land and sea to become polluted. The process started when I found an antique white cotton napkin that I would use for the embroidery piece. I began with a drawn mock-up of the desired artwork then I choose to embroider the face whilst using an embroidery hoop to maintain the tension of the fabric. I worked my way through rest of the Koala through short and long stiches, then completed the arrows and flowers.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Tahlia Blom

The inspiration for my artwork is heavily due to my passion for the wellbeing of animals and how our negative impact are causing them to become extinct. Combined with this, from a very young age, I have taught myself how to sew, crochet, knit and embroider and since then, these creative practices have been a hobby of mine. The symbols within my artwork reflect my beliefs towards the environment. I believe that although our actions to date have caused animals to die, there is still hope for the future if we change our negative trajectory.