Audrey Schneider

Artist Statement

Audrey Schneider is a hand-embroidery artist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who discovered needlework during the Covid-19 lock downs of 2020. To entertain herself while supervising her children’s online learning, Audrey undertook a variety of virtual classes including gouache painting (horrible), bread baking (better) and finally embroidery (the winner!). Her first stitched piece was Philadelphia’s famed mascot “Gritty,” a reflection of the world around her during that difficult time.

Audrey continued sewing. Today she reinterprets two dimensional artworks by hand-stitching strands of thread upon fabric to mimic brush strokes, creating a highly detailed new piece of art. The meditative quality of hand embroidery permits her the time to contemplate the original artist’s thoughts while they created their work as well as learning what external influences may have impacted their efforts.

Audrey’s grandmother was an accomplished embroidery artist and instructor who taught students at the Baptist Haiti Mission in Fermathe, Haiti. She tried, to no avail, to teach her granddaughter the finer points of stitching when she was younger. At the time, Audrey was more enamoured with her Atari 2600 rather than embracing the idea of sitting quietly with her grandmother stabbing fabric over and over again.

She didn’t know what she was missing.