Onna Schwindt is a mixed media embroidery artist who creates art inspired by the organic patterns and sacred geometry surrounding us in daily life. Her work flows between the calm, meditative feeling of circular motifs and the unstructured freedom of intuitive expression.
Her creative journey began as a child during the magazine craft culture of the 1970’s, while working alongside her grandmother and mother at the kitchen table. These early experiences instilled in her a lifelong interest to work with her hands, especially enjoying the calming process of hand stitching. Over the years, she explored a wide range of techniques, including jewelry making, bead weaving, crochet, collage, sewing, and painting. Each medium added another layer to her skill set and the ultimate ability to blend them together in her current work.
A clear focus for her art came when she uncovered a collection of heirloom embroideries in her parents house that had been tucked away for decades. Realizing she comes from a long line of stichers, she felt a renewed connection to what first sparked her creativity. This rediscovery now shapes her current work as she pushes embroidery into new territory, blending traditional techniques with contemporary mixed media approaches.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Onna is primarily a self-taught artist, but has also studied embroidery with Laura Tandeske, The Embroidery Guild of America, and The Royal School of Needlework. She has won awards for her work from the Embroidery Guild of America, El Cerrito Art Association, and Northern California Bead Society. Her work has been exhibited in multiple locations, including The Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek and the Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento. Her work can also be found at ACCI Gallery at 1652 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA.