Heike Gerbig came to textiles late, after a long career as a writer and editor in Berlin.

 

heike gerbig – hands of time (detail)

 

Now she weaves and stitches words into her works, using fragments of poems and random thoughts, as if presenting part of a story that has lost its beginning and has no end.

 

heike gerbig – thoughts for the road (detail)

 

heikie gerbig – mooncloud

 

heike gerbig – wild at heart (work in progress)

 

Fragmentary also are the pieces of salvaged cloth and paper that she uses, subtly coloured with natural dyes and painstakingly hand stitched. Vague figures, traced like the shadow of a lost image, add another layer of mystery with freehand machine embroidery and long, loose threads.

 

Side by side - mixed-media embroidery collage

heike gerbig – side by side – mixed media embroidery & collage

 

heike gerbig – red thread femmes III – mixed media embroidery & collage

 

You can find more of Heike’s work on her blog, Gerdiary, and in her shop on Etsy, HGhandmade.

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With thanks to Heike for generously sharing her images.