Linen is one of the oldest known textiles in the world. It is made from fibers of flax plants, Linum usitatissimum. My artwork shows a pattern made from flax fibers under the microscope, printed on linen. The artwork makes the long fiber-cells visible that give the fabric its strength and durability. This plant has influenced much of the human textile history and industry, especially in colder and temperate climates. Flax is until today a sustainable choice of material, as it requires no fertilizer nor watering during cultivation and the fibers can be mechanically extracted. I have decided to combine it with embroidery, which is a technique that has been traditionally used to decorate linens. This artwork thereby combines nature, science, history and traditional handcrafting.

I am a plant biologist and a scientific artist with a passion for nature, microscopy and textiles. I use my scientific skills and my creative talent to design artistic patterns for digital print on textiles, paper and other surfaces. The process starts in the laboratory with cutting thin slices of various parts of plants, dying those with chemicals to reveal substances inside the tissues and observing them under the microscope. From the digital microscopy images I design repeat patterns that can be digitally printed on various surfaces. With my sciarts I celebrate the beauty of nature and make the fascinating cellular structures inside plants visible to the human eye. My art is a reminder of all the hidden beauty around us that we are responsible to protect.