Steer Skull 40"x40"

Steer Skull

The steer skull stands as a powerful homage to the mythology of the American West, rendered in embroidery that carries both weight and nuance. Long a symbol of endurance, frontier life, and the stark beauty of the desert, the skull is reinterpreted here through a contemporary language of thread and stitch.

Crafted from multiple layers of wool embroidery thread, the form emerges with striking dimensionality. Each line, curve, and hollow has been digitized stitch by stitch, translating the raw, weathered texture of bone into something tactile yet refined. The density of the wool threads imbues the skull with presence—its surface shifting between shadow and light, much like sun-bleached remains on open terrain.

Beyond its immediate visual impact, the steer skull resonates with deeper cultural and artistic associations. In Native American traditions, it has symbolized life, protection, and sacred connection to the land. In Western art, it has become an emblem of resilience, survival, and the enduring spirit of the frontier. By interpreting this icon through embroidery, the work bridges fine art, craft, and cultural history—an intersection where material and meaning converge.

The layering of stitches mirrors the layering of history itself: each thread a mark of labor, each pass of the needle a quiet act of devotion. The result is not only an image of the skull but an evocation of place—where wide horizons, dust, and silence meet in a symbol both haunting and timeless.

Piece Descriptions

Bandana Backgrounds

The bandana backgrounds are rendered entirely in luxurious rayon thread, their familiar motifs elevated from print to stitch. Each background reinterprets the traditional patterns of the American bandana—paisleys, florals, and geometric flourishes—through embroidery, transforming a humble everyday textile into a field of layered artistry.

Drawing from vintage bandana designs, the patterns are reimagined with multiple layers of tonal embroidery that create depth, shimmer, and shifting dimension as light moves across the surface. What was once flat and printed becomes sculptural, a tactile reinvention of a design language long associated with work, rebellion, identity, and style.

The bandana itself holds a storied place in American culture: worn by cowboys and laborers, adopted by musicians and subcultures, it has moved fluidly between function and fashion, practicality and symbol. By transposing these motifs into embroidery, the work reframes the bandana not as an accessory, but as a canvas for art—a visual and cultural code elevated into luxury.

Each embroidered background thus becomes more than a backdrop; it is a statement in its own right, a textured homage to one of the most enduring and democratic patterns in American design history.

Heritage reworked. History remembered—one stitch at a time.