Katrina MacFarlane threads her needle hundreds of times a day. The act of stitching and tying thread, central to her art practice, has a utility that is inextricably linked to our basic need to build, connect, and re-imagine ways of holding things together in the midst of chaos.

Each feather, seedpod, felt shape or stitch of thread becomes a cell of something greater, a building block in the construction of a form that grows over time. Much like mending, the tying of thread creates something solid, something strong and regenerative — a hope. Her creative process is slow and methodical, requiring patience and attention to detail, but what unfolds is a body of work that draws us closer because we can feel the passage of time. At its essence, MacFarlane’s work is an exercise in how to assemble our own resilience.

Katrina MacFarlane has a BSc in Biology from St. Francis Xavier University and a diploma in Diagnostic Cytology from Dalhousie University. She eventually gave up her work in Cytopathology to spend three years studying fine art at NSCAD University. She now lives and works in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, creating her pieces on a beautiful acreage surrounded by trees and birds.