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Artist Creates Web-Like Portraits From a Single Unbroken Thread

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

Slovenia-based artist Sašo Krajnc (aka Cvern) handcrafts incredible string art portraits made with unbroken pieces of sewing thread. Each piece appears like a textile spirograph, featuring countless lines of black thread interwoven and tightly wound around circular, nail-clad, aluminum and wooden frames.

Each piece starts as a single line and evolves into a complex, crisscrossed drawing. The more times the thread passes over an area, the darker it gets, resulting in varying shades that mimic realistic, cross-hatched pencil drawings. Cvern explains, “The realisation that you can create an image only by straight lines is incredible.”

Cvern’s portrait subjects include historical artists, such as Salvador Dalí; pop stars, such as Rihanna and George Michael; and political figures, including Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Cvern also spins textile webs that depict animals and close-ups of eyes, where shadows and reflections are expertly rendered in varying layers of thread.

You can find more of Cvern’s thread art on Instagram.

Slovenia-based artist Sašo Krajnc (aka Cvern) handcrafts incredible string art portraits made with single pieces of sewing thread.

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

Each piece appears like a textile spirograph, featuring countless lines of black thread interwoven and tightly wound around nail-clad, circular frames.

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

A post shared by Cvern (@cvernart) on

Cvern: WebsiteFacebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

All images via Cvern.

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Emma Taggart

Emma Taggart is a Staff Writer and Video Editor at My Modern Met. She earned a BA in Fashion and Textile Design at the University of Ulster in Belfast. Originally from Northern Ireland, she lived in Berlin for many years, where she fostered a career in the arts, dabbling in everything from illustration and animation to music and ceramics. She now calls Edinburgh home, where she continues to work as a writer, illustrator, and ceramicist. Her ceramics, often combined with hand-painted animation frames, capture playful scenes that celebrate freedom and movement, and blend her passion for art with storytelling. Her illustrations have been featured in The Berliner Magazine as well as other print magazines and a poetry book.
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