Coloring Outside the Lines

*In his studio in Catskill, New York, Richard Saja paints with thread, creating a modern context for traditional textiles in the process*

Textile artist Richard Saja has found a way to retain a child-like sense of wonder, to be the kind of grownup who doesn’t always use the green crayon for leaves or the blue one for the sky.

Saja is the founder of Historically Inaccurate, a blog about his decorative, graphic, and fine art work. At his home studio in Catskill, New York, his projects often begin with Toile de Jouy––printed cloth from Jouy-en-Josas, a town near Versailles. He uses the (usually) monochromatic pastoral scenes as a coloring book, and racks of brightly-colored yarn as his crayons. “I’m completely self-taught, and my skills have evolved–and gotten better–over time. I really enjoy the process of stitching, the process of discovery.”

Richard Saja embroiders on toile de Jouy textiles.

Instead of employing expected colorways, Saja uses bright or even glow-in-the-dark examples to embellish and augment. When setting out on a project, he dips into his massive archive of prints, selecting whatever interests him at the time. “It seems like an inexhaustible supply right now so I have many, many choices––and that is appealing to me.”

Richard Saja at work on an embroidered toile panel in his studio.

At the moment, Saja is producing a body of work for a show due to open in Hudson, New York, in October. He will also have a show at the Toile de Jouy Museum at some point in the future. A recently completed project for the W Hotel in Philadelphia, due to open soon, included a toile pattern of his own design, one that was eventually made into duvet covers and other furnishings.

And while he is often approached to do projects with other people, Saja prefers to only take on that which will benefit all parties involved. Prospective clients sometimes want him to realize their already-formed concept, but that kind of work is dull and uninteresting to him. “I'm an artist, not a craftsman.”

Examples of Richard Saja's recent work on tapestry.

These days, Saja can be found stitching more on tapestries than on toile. “Working on tapestry is more knot-making than delicate stitching. I use a giant hoop to stretch the work surface and it’s more physical as well.” He was hired by Anya Hindmarch to produce wool tapestries for her flagship US store, where they hung as decorative elements.