I discovered the work of Lisa Connolly at the Knitting & Stitching Show last year.
She creates stitched illustrations featuring “girls with attitude“. Lisa describes her work thus:
“I tackle atypical themes, immersing myself in the exploration of the strange and unusual. I enjoy conveying tales of the mundane and transporting them into the realms of the extraordinary. I believe my use of mixed media gives a quirky edge to my work, along with the humor I instill in my characters.”
Lisa combines illustration and stitch, and translates her work onto different media, including ceramics.
I liked Lisa’s work the moment I saw it. It takes the charm and innocence of these cute girls and then gives it a nice dark twist. 
Her work is influenced by mental illness (not hers, I should clarify) but it explores the dark sides that we all have. These girls are capable of very bad things; the scratchiness of the work and the way the threads are used in an organised chaotic manner do a great job of illustrating the point.
You can find out more about Lisa, including her homeware and fashion illustration on her website.
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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
The two middle ones remind me of the art style used in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Well if I had any spare chocolate and lived nearby I would have loved to come by for a cuppa and a natter. The work and range of media is very cool. I LOVE the ceramic plate.
These are amazing. Right up my alley.
I think the first one in one of my favorite things I’ve seen on this site.
Out of curiosity, why should it matter if she has a mental illness? I know many artists (including myself) are strongly influenced by their own struggles with mental illness and their art would not be the same without it. Please try not to make comments like this that may suggest discrimination.
Hi Kathy,
I don’t think it does matter, and you’re right about how mental illness has influenced art. Sorry if you interpreted my comment as being discriminatory, I assure you it was not.
Love, Love, Love, Love…I don’t think i could even say it enough!
I didn’t get anything discriminatory from that statement either. I believe it’s important to record what influences someone’s art. I think that was a statement of just that.
I’m not meaning to be negative, I just feel the statement could have done without the part in brackets.
I love this site, I’m just very aware how easy it is to type things and have them interpreted wrong (as perhaps I did).