Hi! Nice to see you here :)

I am Elīza Māra, an artist and professional embroiderer. My main medium that I work with is hand embroidery. Ever since 2014 when I rediscovered hand embroidery in my teens, I've felt that it is a world I want to explore. In 2018 I moved to London to get my degree in Hand Embroidery from Royal School of Needlework and since then stitch is not only my hobby, but also my profession. I am also the first Latvian and since then the only Latvian, who has graduated RSN. There I also discovered my love for Soviet built heritage and coming from Riga’s microrayon Mežciems while experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic, feeling homesick for my small apartment in a blockhouse started shaping my creative direction that I will take with my work.

After London, I moved back home to Riga, Latvia and have been working as an embroiderer trying out every form of embroidery work in every possible corner of the industry. Working for private and national level commissions and getting a first hand experience of embroideries place in different cultural contexts, I went on to pursue a Masters degree in Cultural Heritage Management and Communication.

I spent 2 years researching Soviet heritage - built and social - and wrote a thesis on ‘the inheritability of uncomfortable heritage in the urban environment: the case of Soviet-era apartment buildings in Riga'. My thesis has given me data to work with to be interpreted in my art pieces in the future.

In 2023 I've been added to Homo Faber Guide which is an online platform spotlighting exceptional craftsmanship in Europe, organised by Michelangelo Foundation.