Embodied Connection: Stitch by Stitch

Fabric, acrylic paint, oil pastel, embroidery thread, buttons, marker, and oil paint; 9×24 in; May ‘26

My client and I learned to embroider together. We passed a small fabric and added individual stitches back and forth before expanding our embroidery process onto larger fabrics with mixed media. We spoke to the metaphor of stitching as the client’s process of memory reconsolidation: “stitching together” fragmented memories while engaging in identity exploration. In my studies, I have been learning about how, within relationship, our bodies naturally influence one another’s emotional states, with or without words. Our bodies are made to co-regulate. Our biology is intelligent. Art making can be a practice of trusting this intelligence, and as I practice, I continue to see unconscious and truthful material naturally arise in the creative process.

This piece speaks to the importance of present, embodied connection in the larger context of our increasingly digital age. Problematic internet use can disrupt in-person relational connection as well as our own bodily interoceptive awareness. This piece communicates my understanding of how art therapy that incorporates in-person collaborative art making can be a repair process for both. I trust our biological intelligence, which our digital “intelligence” can make it harder for us to listen to and see. When we listen, the importance of being together becomes clear, as does our inherent capacity for healing. I intend this piece to grapple with our culture of technology, shining light on the truth that perhaps our biology is the technology we should be centering.