Shahnaz Khan is an embroidery artist and educator focused on the preservation of traditional techniques and their use in contemporary art. She uses embroidery in her work to stitch together spirituality, tradition, heritage, and joy. In many ways, the creative embroidery classes at TATTER have been brought to us by Shahnaz: she taught our very first creative embroidery class in 2023 and her patience, creativity, and enthusiasm have inspired students to return for many of the creative embroidery classes that have followed. On Saturday, January 11th, Shahnaz will join us for an in-person stitching class as part of our Creative Embroidery Series. Her class, “Embroidery as Play,” will help participants move beyond stitching from a pre-designed kit and confidently develop their own creative embroidery practice by coaching students through exercises crafted to inspire. One of the most popular exercises from her first class in 2023 was a self-reflection exercise Shahnaz uses in her own practice: the creation of a Monster.
So Shahnaz, Tell me about your Monsters.
I have been reflecting on identity, the intersection between how we see ourselves and how others see us, for a while now and I wanted to create work around this theme. I started a series of self portraits that are deliberately distorted but still bear some relationship to how I look. It is a process driven project, because it involves spending a lot of time really looking at myself, which can be difficult to do. Since my childhood I have been told that I should aspire to look different and to alter my appearance to please others. It is very hard to undo this conditioning, and the first step is acceptance. I drew these portraits “blind” so it was always a surprise to see them. They look quite grotesque and I immediately started thinking of them as “Little Shahnaz Monsters”. I meant this in a loving way, and adding the embroidery is my way of decorating and loving what I see. We live in a culture where so much time is spent airbrushing photos to create our perfect self. I wanted to do the opposite in order to celebrate the imperfections.
I love taking your embroidery class last year, and making a monster for myself. What was the process of translating that personal practice into a teaching practice?
The thing that is really beautiful about teaching is that it is always informing my creative practice. The two things work in tandem and are continually influencing each other. I might be doing research for a class that inspires a creative project or vice versa. The way I begin any new project is with research. It is all about input and output.The input is about connecting to different cultures and moments in time and understanding the ways in which various elements informed textile traditions. Sometimes the output is teaching, sometimes it is creating through self expression. I will often see little elements like color and materials, from something I am researching for a class, seep into an unrelated piece of work. Or I might make certain discoveries that lead to more intentional projects. The Monsters are a great example of that. When I started developing my Creative Embroidery class, I was thinking a lot about the importance of having a regular practice and I started to think of things that helped me along the way. Using abstract lines and forms is a great way to break through creative blocks. So I started experimenting with exercises I could do in a class setting and that is where my Monsters were born.
How do you as a professional textile artist find time for play?
This is probably the hardest thing I come up against. I sew for a living doing costume alterations and repairs on Broadway so I already spend all day with a needle and thread in my hand. If I am going to sew or embroider when I am not at work, it needs to be more about artistic expression and creativity.
I love learning new stitches and experimenting with different materials, but for me play can also include a visit to the museum or art gallery, an afternoon at the library, or taking a drawing class. Adding in variety helps make things feel less monotonous and I never know what is going to spark the creative flame. I am getting better at approaching my work in “bite-size” pieces, so that I can have fun playing around and making discoveries within my busy schedule.
What are you most excited to work on this coming year?
I find the new year brings a sense of renewal so I like to take some time at the beginning of the year to look through my project bins and sketch books and see what new perspectives I might have.
I enjoy having some time to reflect on the coming year and think about what direction I might like to take my work. I am currently experimenting with ways of incorporating text into my practice, playing around with counted techniques as well as free hand embroidery.
