Pendragan Art Studio

Dreaming a New Constellation

72 x 57 cm. Hand embroidered appliqué on short pile chenille. £4,500.

The Red Cushion sea star, Oreaster Reticulatus, is a creature that already looks like a living embroidery. Found in the Western Atlantic and the Caribbean Ocean, the adult starfish appear in shades of red, orange, gold and brown, offering a delicious palette with which to compose.

These stars are made of silk velvet, hand-embroidered and beaded. The vintage sea glass on the bottom is attached with shisha stitch, the sort used in mirror work. The glass was collected in the late 1970s on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, England. It represents precious memories of childhood, beach combing with my family.

The sailing boat I lived on with my family at that time was called ‘Pleiades’, after the constellation sometimes called the Seven Sisters. I don’t know if starfish watch the heavens or have visions, but if they do, I like to think of them dreaming up new constellations and reflecting joyful messages from the sea back to the sky.

Framed by yacht builder Tony Williams, my father.

Price: £4,500.

The 8cm deep box frame is built from solid sapele wood, a sustainable species of mahogany. The art glass filters out 70% UV, to protect the piece from fading. I have signed the piece on the back.