Stumpwork Sea Anemones

Led by Helene Knott

You won’t find a more fascinating array of flora and fauna in astounding shapes and colors than in a tide pool. At the top of the list is the ephemeral ‘flower of the sea’, the Sea Anemone. Not actually flowers but animals, Sea Anemones are related to corals but resemble flowers so that many people assume they are plants. They come in all imaginable colors, some with long tentacles, and some with short. In their ‘open’ active state they do look like flowers with tentacles radiating from a center ‘mouth’; when disturbed or in low water situations the anemone draws in its tentacles and resembles a rounded pillow with a center depression. For color ideas, Google ‘Sea Anemone Images’ and prepare to be amazed. Stumpwork is a form of dimensional hand embroidery that rose to popularity in 17th Century Europe. Used to decorate jewel boxes, framed art and other novelties, stumpwork usually featured pastoral elements rendered in stitches that created texture and sculptural form.

These embroidered and beaded Sea Anemones must be seen – and touched – in person to appreciate the sensuous tactile feel of them. Once you touch them, you won’t be able to stop running your fingers over them.