JColleen Friedman is a freestyle hand embroidery artist. Academically, she never studied art, instead focusing on materials science and software development, but has always used some form of fiber arts as her creative outlet. As she does with most things, she began her embroidery journey all at once when she decided to hand embroider a 10" hoop for each table at her wedding. Each embroidery depicted an important moment or place in her and her husband's life together. Currently, she focuses on using watercolor and acrylic paint as well as thread to capture her memories and experiences on fabric. You can find her most days with at least 2 embroidery projects in the works.

My embroidered art is often inspired by photography. I enjoy taking a picture, something that instantly captures a moment, and slowing down to hand stitch it onto fabric. I tend to contrast crisp outlines with detailed accents, sometimes using acrylic paint to compliment the threaded elements. Currently I am working on a series that explores photos my mom took when she was my age, as well as pivotal people and places in my life, as a way of documenting and processing my experiences.