Sculpture has a unique way of bringing art to life. Unlike paintings or drawings, three-dimensional works have a physical presence that invites us to engage with them in a more tactile, immersive way. Whether it’s the delicate stitches that transform a leaf into a lace-like relic, or the meticulously embroidered wings of a moth that seem ready to take flight, sculptural textile art blurs the lines between reality and imagination. It adds texture, movement, and depth—allowing us to experience art not just visually, but almost physically.
In this edition of Artists You Have to Follow, we’re diving into the world of contemporary textile sculptors who are pushing creative boundaries with their extraordinary work. From Hiné Mizushima’s whimsical felt marine life to Alicja Kozłowska’s bold, embroidered takes on consumer culture, these artists are redefining what fibre art can be.
Before we start...
Don’t forget to check out our other blogs in the Artists you Have to Follow Series.
- 10 Textile Artists Inspired by Animals
- 10 Textile Artists Inspired by Architecture
- 9 Textile Artists Inspired by Food
- 10 Textiles Artists Inspired by the Ocean
- Textile Artists Inspired by Nature
- 10 Textile Portrait Artists
- 10 Contemporary Felt Artists
- Machine Embroidery Artists You Have to Follow
- Hand Embroidery Artists You Have to Follow
- Inspiring Patchwork Quilt Artists You Have to Follow
- Inspiring Knit Artists You Have to Follow
10 Textile Sculptors
1. Heather Rios
Heather Rios masterfully blends sculpture and textile techniques to create hyper-realistic cakes that blur the line between art and indulgence. Using polymer clay for structure and intricate embroidery for detail, her trompe l’oeil confections mimic the soft textures and vibrant layers of real pastries. Each slice, often paired with a vintage plate and fork, is a playful nod to both fine craftsmanship and the fleeting beauty of desserts.
Beyond her freestanding sculptures, Rios extends her artistry to canvas, incorporating shallow reliefs of cakes into richly textured paintings. Her work embraces bold color, intricate floral motifs, and even the delicate patterns of blue-and-white porcelain, crafting cakes that would be nearly impossible to bake in real life. With her ability to transform everyday indulgences into lasting artworks, Rios invites us to appreciate the joy of cake—without the crumbs.
Follow Heather Rios
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/heatherriosarte/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_rios_arte/
2. Emma Rose
Emma Rosa’s work bridges the gap between science and art, transforming fabric and thread into intricate botanical studies. Inspired by antiquated botanical illustrations, she meticulously recreates entire plants—not just their blossoms—highlighting the overlooked beauty of stems, leaves, and roots. Her pieces blend machine embroidery with traditional Japanese flower-making techniques, resulting in delicate, lifelike specimens.
Rooted in the rural landscapes of Devon, Rosa’s work is deeply influenced by the rhythms of nature, conservation, and folklore. Her textile plants are often encased in salvaged glass domes, vintage bottles, or scientific specimen jars, evoking a sense of historical curiosity and preservation. Through her multidisciplinary approach, she captures both the fragility and resilience of the natural world in stitched form.
Follow Emma Rose
Website: https://www.emmarosa.co.uk/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/emma.rosa.artist
3. Zoë Hillyard
Zoë Hillyard’s Ceramic Patchwork merges textile artistry with traditional mending techniques, reviving discarded ceramics through the delicate craft of hand-stitched patchwork. By wrapping broken ceramic fragments in printed fabric and reassembling them solely with stitch, she transforms once-functional objects into unique decorative vessels. The result is a striking interplay of texture and form, where the softness of textiles contrasts with the rigid history of the ceramics beneath.
Rooted in circular design thinking, Hillyard’s work embraces imperfection, celebrating the beauty in flaws, chips, and gaps as part of an object’s evolving story. Each piece carries echoes of its past—whether as salvaged materials fused into new compositions or as sentimental possessions given a second life. With its blend of fragility and resilience, Ceramic Patchwork challenges perceptions of both textiles and ceramics, offering a fresh perspective on repair, reinvention, and sustainability.
Follow Zoë Hillyard
Website: https://zoehillyard.wordpress.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceramicpatchwork/
4. Ýr Jóhannsdóttir
Ýr Jóhannsdóttir, known as Ýrúrarí, is an Icelandic textile artist whose bold, playful knitwear transforms everyday garments into surreal, wearable art. Blending humor, body movement, and social commentary, her work often features exaggerated forms, expressive faces, and unexpected textures, pushing the boundaries of traditional knitwear. With a strong focus on sustainability, she reimagines unwanted clothing, extending its life through imaginative embellishments and reinvention.
Beyond fashion, Ýrúrarí’s creations exist in the realm of contemporary art and design, exhibited in prestigious spaces like the Reykjavík Art Museum, the Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Textiel Museum in the Netherlands. Her unique aesthetic has garnered international attention, leading to collaborations with artists such as Erykah Badu and Tierra Whack. Whether through her thought-provoking projects like Sweater Sauce or her vibrant custom pieces, Ýrúrarí challenges our relationship with textiles, consumption, and self-expression.
Follow Ýr Jóhannsdóttir
Website: http://www.yrurari.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yrurari/
5. Melissa Calderon
Melissa Calderón’s embroidered works transcend traditional textile art, creating striking three-dimensional compositions that seem to emerge from the canvas. Blending personal memory with social commentary, she stitches vivid landscapes of the Bronx and Puerto Rico, capturing the shifting nature of neighborhoods and the displacement of long-time residents. Her Gentrified Landscapes series transforms thread into a powerful storytelling medium, where vines spill across linen and unraveling sofas evoke the fragility of home and stability.
Though her work is rooted in embroidery, Calderón’s meticulous layering and sculptural use of fiber give her pieces a dynamic, tactile presence that feels at home in the world of contemporary constructed textiles. By pushing the physical and conceptual boundaries of her medium, she not only preserves personal and collective histories but also redefines embroidery as a tool for activism and reflection.
Follow Melissa Calderon
Website: https://www.melissacalderon.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msmelissacalderon/
6. Signe Emdal
Signe Emdal’s textile sculptures push the boundaries of woven art, transforming wool into dynamic, layered compositions that blend memory, movement, and intuition. Trained in jacquard weaving and fabric printing, Emdal spent years creating functional textile objects before breaking free to embrace a more fluid, expressive approach. She now describes herself as a “textile composer,” using the loom as a portal to capture the essence of place, experience, and transformation.
Her series Touch and Loop showcase sculptural weavings that radiate with vibrant color and tactile energy, influenced by science fiction, feminism, and art history. These woolen forms appear weightless yet deeply grounded, embodying both fragility and resilience. For Emdal, weaving is not just a craft but a meditative process—an ever-evolving practice that mirrors the rhythms of life itself.
Follow Signe Emdal
Website: https://signeemdal.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/signeemdal/
7. Hine Mizushima
Hiné Mizushima’s fiber sculptures bring a playful, almost dreamlike quality to the natural world, transforming marine creatures into soft, whimsical forms. Working from her Vancouver studio, she stitches dioramas and plush renditions of ammonites, octopuses, and moray eels, often placing them in unexpected, surreal contexts—like an eel emerging from an artery or an octopus resting atop a human heart.
Her work blends craft with scientific curiosity, using felt, crochet, and intricate beadwork to reimagine sea life in pastel hues. Mizushima’s delicate yet surreal creations invite viewers to see the ocean’s inhabitants in a new, endearing light, where nature meets fantasy in soft sculptural form.
Follow Hine Mizushima
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheishine/
8. Susanna Bauer
Susanna Bauer’s delicate sculptures fuse the fragility of nature with the precision of craft, creating an intimate dialogue between the two. Working from Cornwall, England, she carefully stitches together found leaves and twigs with intricate lace crochet, reinforcing and reshaping them into new compositions. Her work highlights the resilience of nature while also reflecting the delicate balance of human relationships and emotions.
Using fine hooks, needles, and cotton thread, Bauer pushes crochet to its limits, crafting intricate lace along the edges of leaves or binding them together into sculptural forms. Each piece becomes a meditation on time, tension, and the ephemeral beauty of the natural world, inviting us to see both its vulnerability and strength.
Follow Susanna Bauer
Website: https://www.susannabauer.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanna_bauer/
9. Yumi Okita
Yumi Okita brings delicate creatures to life through intricate embroidery and sculptural fabric work. From her studio in Raleigh, she meticulously hand-dyes, hand-paints, and stitches her vibrant moths, butterflies, and flowers, creating pieces so lifelike they seem poised to take flight. Her artistry blends fine textile techniques with a sculptural approach, allowing her work to move beyond traditional craft and into the realm of organic realism.
Originally trained in ceramics, Okita’s creative path led her to textiles, where she found new ways to explore form, texture, and movement. What began as fabric handbags evolved into intricate, freestanding moth sculptures, each one more detailed than the last. Over time, her pieces have become ever more refined, with complex wing patterns and otherworldly botanicals that blur the line between reality and imagination.
Follow Yumi Okita
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/YumiOkita/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yumi.okita.fiber.art/
10. Alicja Kozlowska
Alicja Kozłowska reimagines everyday consumer objects through intricate textile art, blending traditional embroidery with contemporary pop art influences. A passionate admirer of Andy Warhol, she elevates commercial branding and mass production imagery, stitching familiar logos and packaging into thought-provoking fiber sculptures. By merging hand and machine embroidery, her work challenges perceptions of consumerism, inviting audiences to reconsider the objects they encounter daily.
Based in Poland, Kozłowska brings her art to unconventional spaces, from museums to shopping malls, turning her textile creations into interactive performances. Her work has been exhibited in galleries across Europe and the U.S., including The LAM Museum, MOCAK, and Gallery1988. Recognised with numerous awards, including the prestigious Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery, she continues to push the boundaries of fiber art, transforming the ordinary into striking, tactile statements.
Follow Alicja Kozlowska
Website: https://www.alicesidea.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alice.kozlow/
