Textile artist Junko Oki lives and works in Kamakura, Japan and began her embroidery career in her 40s. She calls her work “Woky Shoten” meaning ‘free movement of the line to make a simple repetition of work’. Her intricate free form embroidery have a vintage quality and often features a cross in her designs. She reveals a bit about herself in the quotes we have gathered:

“Collectively, the works were none other than a reflection of me, maybe even embarrassingly so. I desired to expose myself even more through my works; I wanted to be true to myself. What else matters? That is the one thing I know that I am good at.”

“Even if you find a tangled-up thread, you don’t have to cut it off, you can leave it to create a new pattern. In other words the path is endless and you can keep on going – no turning back.”

’When I have needles, threads, and other special materials in front of me, something stirs deep inside my unconscious mind in spite of myself, and I am filled with strong emotion.That is when I regain my true self’ 

You can follow the artist on here on her website.

Images: Courtesy of Junko Oki.