Meet Bettina Csolkovits. Inspired by her favorite things from her childhood, she creates 3D hand-embroidered works of art. Look closely at all of the details. She plans her work for several months to bring her visions to life.
How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?
My artistic journey was definitely one that evolved over many years.
As a kid I was obsessed with fantasy books and would often draw as a way to bring that magic into the real world, but to be honest drawing was never really my strong suit. When I turned 16 I asked my grandparents for a camera, and for the next decade I became absolutely obsessed with photography. I knew nothing about photography when I started. I hadn’t taken classes, nor was the camera anything spectacular, but over time I became more comfortable with it and eventually I challenged myself with a “365 project,” which is when you take and post a photo every single day for an entire year. Needless to say I only made it about 100 days before calling it quits, but during that time I learned a lot.
In 2012 I tried again, and this time I succeeded! Not only did I complete my first 365 project, but I learned so much… about myself, about photography, and about how to work through failure and the hard parts of creation. After the project was over I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, evolving both as an artist and as a person.
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How has your creativity developed over the years? What triggered the transformation to a new medium?
To be honest, at the start of 2019 my life took a drastic shift. I was diagnosed with a plethora of autoimmune diseases, and taking photos suddenly became extremely difficult for me. My beloved artistic outlet now caused me pain; it was a constant reminder of just how sick I’d become and I felt a huge loss for my sense of self as a result.
Anyone that has dealt with grief knows what a powerful emotion it can be, and it was one that I felt often over the first few years after becoming chronically ill. I was watching my whole identity deteriorate along with my health, which left me depressed and honestly struggling to imagine I’d ever feel happy again.
Little did I know that another passion was forming in the background of my life, and in the winter of 2021 I developed an interest in embroidery from a few landscape pieces I’d seen online. From there I spent an entire week researching- I read blogs, watched tutorials, in addition to asking other embroidery artists questions about the techniques and materials they were using. I was an information sponge!
At the end of the week I started my first project, and from the moment my needle went through the fabric a familiar fire ignited. The passion I’d once experienced with photography was back, and I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. I felt like myself again.
It’s been a little over two years since then, and there is rarely a day that goes unstitched now. Some days I can only manage 30 minutes of creation, but I know it’ll all add up, until eventually my project is complete. And there’s just something so satisfying about that sense of accomplishment.
I might not be able to travel the world or eat at every restaurant, but I can do this. I can complete something, and that’s worth more than anything to me. I think embroidery and I were destined to be intertwined. I just had to stumble onto the right path to discover it.
Is there an overarching theme that connects all of your work? What do you do differently? What is your signature that makes your work stand out as yours?
At this moment I’m absolutely obsessed with anything that’s nerdy and nostalgic. I love recreating all the favorite things from my childhood, but if I had to explain my art in one sentence I think it would be,“Incredible attention to detail.”
Embroidery is a notoriously slow art form (one of the slowest I’ve come across, in fact), but that doesn’t stop me from adding as many details as possible into my work. Each piece takes me an average of around 120 hours to make, and I don’t really think about how tedious it’ll be to embroider or how much time it’ll take me to complete.
If I can envision what I want to create, then that’s what’s getting stitched!
What motivates you artistically? Is there anything you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?
This often surprises people, but the most motivating part for me is actually the process, not the end result.
Each time I share an update I show a different part of my work, and over the past two years I’ve discovered that there is a whole community of amazing people that have become inspired by the process and my so-called “embroidery chapters.”
The support and encouragement I’ve gotten as a result has become such an inspiration and has allowed me to truly let my imagination run wild. It usually takes 4-5 months to finish one project, but I’m really motivated throughout the whole journey from beginning to end.
When it comes to creating, are you more of a planner or an improviser?
I am most certainly a planner! About 2 months before I start a new project I’ll begin collecting all my materials, locating the perfect frame, and narrowing down my color palette. I love taking my time to ensure that all the elements work well together, and I’ll even make paper models if I’m planning a three dimensional stumpwork piece! This really helps provide a visual of how everything will look, and gives me a solid understanding of what is needed to bring my vision to life.
How do you balance your personal life, work, and creative endeavors?
Managing my creative time is actually quite tricky. Not only do I work 35+ hours every week, but I average around 15 doctors appointments each month on top of generally having less energy than the average person due to chronic illness. At the end of the day I’m pretty worn down and you’d think that creating is the last thing I’d want to do, but honestly I find it to be very meditative. Embroidery makes me happy, so I try to dedicate one hour to it every day and I find I always feel better afterward, regardless of how busy or stressful the day has been.
Describe your creative space.
This may come as shock to you, but my creative space is my beloved couch! I know a lot of artists have large custom spaces dedicated to their work, but there is just something so relaxing about curling up on the sofa and getting lost in my art for an hour. Occasionally I’ll put on a show (Friends is definitely a big favorite of mine), but more often than not I’ll pop in some headphones and listen to my latest music obsession.
I think it’s really important for other artists to know they don’t need entire rooms full of antiques or pleasing aesthetics to create. All you really need is a comfy space with a little devotion and determination to make art happen. Oh, and having a small furry sidekick definitely helps!
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How did it come about?
My most recent project (Little Bear Goes to the Moon) is perhaps the most meaningful piece I’ve created thus far. Books were everything to me as a kid. You wouldn’t know it now, but I used to be *so* afraid of people. Talking to people, being around people – god forbid I had to make a phone call! My chosen escape from the ‘real world’ was books. I’m sure anyone that knows Little Bear probably remembers the animated TV show, but it was actually a wonderful series of children’s books first!
I’ll never forget all the times I requested my grandma read the “Birthday Soup” story before bed, admiring Little Bear’s adventures and his quirky friends.. Friends that I might be brave enough to have someday.
When I stumbled upon the Little Bear books again last year, I just knew I had to create something. Not only did I want to build an embroidery shadowbox (which was a dream I’d had since the start of my embroidery journey), but I wanted to create a tribute to my younger self; I wanted to recreate one of the happiest memories of my childhood. So I did just that.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
For me, there is nothing better than being smack dab in the middle of my design! I love when the project starts to come to life, yet still has an air of mystery to it.
As for my challenges, that’s most definitely when I enter the final stage of completing a project. I turn all of my original embroidery designs into glass prints and stickers, so there is always a huge amount of admin and non-artistic photography work that comes with that. It can be mentally and physically draining to take so many photos, prepare my shop, and work with printing companies.
A lot of my original pieces also sell before they’re fully finished, so I often find myself lingering during the last few hours of stitching as a way to hold onto the memories just a little bit longer, but by the end, I always feel satisfied and ready to send the piece off to its forever home.
What (or who) has been your biggest inspiration in keeping your creative energy going?
It’s definitely a combination of things that help keep my creative fire lit, the most prominent of them being the amazing community that I’ve found through embroidery. The “Stitcherhood” as we call it is so incredibly supportive and uplifting. It never fails to keep me inspired and wanting to create and share more with everyone!
As for who inspires me, that is easily Megan Zaniewski (@megembroiders on Instagram). Her talent and ability to bring nature to life through stumpwork knows no bounds. Even as my own skills grow I begin to think I’ve seen it all, then somehow she manages to produce a piece unlike anything I could’ve imagined. Her work is truly magical.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Failure is necessary for growth!
Think about it. If we’re constantly producing ‘perfect’ pieces of art, we aren’t really growing as artists; we’re not learning much if we become repetitive in our creations, are we?
I think art should be uncomfortable sometimes. It should push us and test our limits. If I’m working on a piece and I don’t like the way something looks, I don’t hesitate to rip out my stitches and try again.
I think failure is a good thing; a positive thing. It doesn’t mean that we’ve actually failed, it just means that we achieved something else… Knowledge. We learn from our ‘failures,’ and as a result, I think that helps us grow as artists.
What’s next on the horizon? Any future plans?
Yes! One of the things I’m most excited about this year is a thread tracking and project management app that my husband and I are currently developing. There are thousands of different types and colors of thread and while there are currently a few apps available to help keep track of inventory, there really isn’t a good one, as most of them are lacking basic functionality. I gathered feedback from the community, so it’s being developed *by* the community *for* the community and I really love that.
Where can people see your work?
I’m most active on Instagram! There I share my entire creation process, as well as my finished works and engage with the community on a daily basis as much as possible.
I also recently launched a blog and newsletter where I plan to share tutorials and deeper dives about my creation process, product reviews, and more throughout the year.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeebamdotcom/
Website: www.zeebam.com
Blog: www.zeebam.com/blog
Newsletter: www.zeebam.com/subscribe
Inspiration/Megan Zaniewski: https://www.instagram.com/megembroiders/
Interview posted April 2024
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