Tufted Art by Simone Saunders That Examines Culture + Identity

I’ve been tufting for about 6 months now and now I often find myself down Instagram rabbit holes related to yarn, tufting, modern textile art, and more. A few months ago, during one of these said searches, I landed on the work of Canadian artist Simone Saunders (@simoneelizabethtextiles). I was immediately drawn to her use of bright colors and beautiful compositions. Her oversized portraits of powerful Black women against colorful, geometric, and abstract backgrounds are stunning. Plus, I love watching the videos of her at work alongside her cute pupster – creative process videos and doggos always enhance the IG experience for me!

Recently, she began tufting subject matter around a Washington Post article that describes Black men being discriminated against and feeling unsafe while wearing masks to protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has evolved into more work focused around the Black Lives Matter movement and has personally made me reflect more on how important artists have always been in poignantly contributing to the dialogue around social justice, reform, civil rights, and human rights.

Simone also creates other works including textiles, visual art, and surface patterns. See all of Simone’s work here.