With his own skin as his canvas and needles as his tools, artist David Cata demands a pound of flesh from himself in return for his creative expression. That is to say, each individual piece takes a toll that may require a healing period before he can begin another – something that can’t be said about most other kinds of artistic media. Previously known for embroidering photographs of his family members onto his palms, Catá now turns to scenery and still life as his subjects of choice.

But don’t worry, it isn’t too painful, and only barely draws blood. Working just on the surface with the layer of skin that’s mostly dead and easy to pierce, Catá typically ‘sketches’ whatever’s right in front of him, whether that’s the sleeping figure of a woman in bed, photos of his relatives, a snowy landscape or – as in the case of his most recent piece, Horizonte 07. La Musicá – the keys of a piano. He has also sewn tiny pockets for soil into his skin to support seedlings.

The artist leaves his works in place for mere minutes, recording their creation or photographing the results before ripping out the stitches. He says the resulting ‘tracks’ stay on his body for about four weeks. In an interview with Citizen Brooklyn, he said, “Somehow, all of the portraits I’ve done are permanently living on me, even if they are not visible. Each print is latent on my body. But, if I had to pick one, I’d keep my great-grandmother Perpetua’s portrait.”

This is definitely not your grandmother’s embroidery. It’s stitched into the helmets of soldiers, onto car doors and fences, producing cats that pop out of shirt pockets and portraits so painterly, it’s hard to believe they’re made of thread. In fact, needlework stands in for everything from spray-painted street art to living moss in these extraordinarily artistic stitch-based creations.

Floral Cross-Stitch Urban Murals by Raquel Rodrigo

Cross-stitched street art is in bloom all over Madrid this week thanks to floral creations by artist Raquel Rodrigo, who wraps thick string around a wire mesh form and then affixes it to urban surfaces.

Cross-Stitched Microbes by Alicia Watkins

Rather than flowers and the other pretty things that are typically stitched within an embroidery hoop, artist Alicia Watkins puts the spotlight on nasty germs and microbes ranging from the measles to mad cow disease.

Pets in Pockets by Hiroko Kubota

Adorable, strikingly realistic cats and puppies pop out of pockets in this fun clothing line by Hiroko Kubota called Go!Go!5. The project started when the Japanese embroidery artist’s son asked for a custom cat-adorned shirt, and took off from there. You can even have a custom pet portrait created just for you.

Embroidery Gone Wild by Danielle Clough

Virtually anything that can be punctured or woven with embroidery floss is fair game for Danielle Clough, whose wildly unique creations have appeared on tennis rackets, shoes and fences.

Splotchy Embroidered Fashion by Olya Glagoleva and Lisa Smirnov

What appears, from a distance, to be splotches of paint roughly applied to textured textiles turns out to be hyper-detailed embroidery in abstract forms. Russian artist Lisa Smirnova paired up with fashion designer Olya Glagoleva to collaborate on this fun project for the eco-friendly clothing line GO!

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
In Stitches 45 Artistic Embroidered Cross Stitched Creations