Victoria Rose Richards - Embroidery Artist

I am Victoria Rose Richards, a 24 year-old autistic biology graduate who creates embroidery art in South-West Devon, UK. After going through a lot of depressive patches in recent years, I figured a big contributor to them was boredom and decided to get a new hobby; I saw some embroidery landscapes online, got out my grandmother’s old tin and pulled out some greens and blues to have my first try… and then I never stopped! In living in the countryside in a place of natural beauty, I am surrounded by inspiration for my pieces in the endless fields and meadows, lush forests, winding rivers and reaching moorland. Now, almost four years after starting, I’ve specialised in aerial views and use a combination of stitches on felt sheets to create landscapes based on the Devon countryside. While each piece may have a theme, such as spring, summertime or lakes, the main focus of many of my pieces are the fields – I love the shapes they naturally form and are made to form by agriculture, seemingly perfectly fitted together yet forced. How many people have fond memories of visiting the countryside as a child? In these idealized scenes I try to express a nostalgia that is both comforting and bittersweet, bringing back rose-tinted memories of simpler days past.