If you think embroidery is just for small hoops and grandmas’ pillows, textile artist Kathrin Marchenko is here to completely blow your mind. She’s famous for taking traditional stitching and turning it into ethereal, large-scale contemporary art. Her latest project, Nymphéas Beyond, is a total showstopper—a massive, Monet-inspired water lily scene that looks more like a painting than a sewing project.
This isn’t your average needlework. Spanning a whopping 110 x 280 centimeters, the piece is stitched onto framed tulle, giving it a floating, dreamlike quality. By mixing dozens of different yarns with various textures, she’s essentially invented “textile brushstrokes.” It’s a gorgeous example of how textile artist Kathrin Marchenko uses thread to mimic the fluid, messy beauty of an impressionist masterpiece.
To get the vibe just right, Marchenko didn’t just look at photos; she went full immersion mode. She spent time in Claude Monet’s actual garden and even planted a mini garden at home to stay inspired by the light and greenery. She spent weeks on this, starting with tiny, almost invisible stitches that slowly grew into a rich, heavy surface. For her, the best part is that slow transformation where the thread finally starts to feel like paint. It’s a patient, beautiful process that results in something truly magical!
Check out Nymphéas Beyond below and find more of Marchenko’s beautiful work on Instagram.
