The Artist
"My pieces are meant to be slow objects in a fast world: one-of-a-kind heirloom pieces, made to be passed between generations, much like the craft traditions from which they come"
Sadhana Srivastava is a textile artist specializing in silk thread portraiture, working under the name Sooi Silk Works. Trained at the Apparel Training and Design Centre in New Delhi, India and formerly with the Indian couture house Shades of India, Sadhana ran a custom apparel studio for a decade before devoting her practice fully to threadwork in 2015. She has, since, devoted herself to developing hand stitched portraits using monochrome silk strands, built stitch by stitch in silk, achieving a tonal depth and precision more often associated with painting than embroidery.
About
Process
The Sketch
Every portrait begins on paper, drawn by hand. The likeness is settled here—colour, light, the gaze, every little nuance observed and recorded in meticulous handwritten notes to refer to in the actual stitching stage
The Colour
Threads chosen from a library of hundreds of silk spools, collected from around the world. Each strand taken separately and then brought together by hand to achieve the exact tone. Skin, shadow and fabric each demand their own mix
The Stitch
Thousands upon thousands of stitches, worked one by one. Built stitch by stitch, layer by layer, entirely by hand. An unforgiving form — slow to execute, with no room for error.
The Detail
Depth is built through layering the stitches: the fold of a scarf, the turn of an eye, the curve of a cheek. Fine work carries the true likeness, and it is the last thing to be laid in.
At the Frame
The cloth is held taut and worked from the first stitch to the last. Months of quiet, repetitive labour before a face begins to appear. The needle does what a brush would— only slower, and with far more patience
The Finished Work
A silk thread painting, realistic and rendered in immaculate detail. Signed, framed, and made only once. An heirloom piece—a memory in time to be treasured and passed between generations
The Gaze
"My work aims to capture that moment of recognition, when the portrait feels less like an image and more like meeting the person again"