The traditional costumes of ancient Asia have never failed to captivate audiences and have inspired everything from fashion to television pause over centuries. Thai artist Yerrinda Keawsuwan has found a new way to express adoration for these garms, through not only subject matter, but also through medium. She takes the craft of embroidery and elevates it to an art form, depicting women from across Asia in the clothes and environments of the past in all their glory.

The pieces closely resemble paintings, but up close you can see the careful stitching, which renders delicate images of women in the courtyards of kingdoms long gone. Keawsuwan usually depicts East Asian scenes but also occasionally medieval Europe as well. The women’s silken smooth robes, gowns, and hair tumble out among ink-wash style painting backgrounds, pleasure gardens, and peacocks.

Keawsuwan—who recently wrapped up a solo show at BACC—finds the femininity of the art form and the subjects themselves the main appeal for her. Early memories of watching her mother make embroidery created a natural affinity for her. So when she was exposed to it again it university, she quickly gravitated towards it. It’s a medium that appeals to many women, and there are several other artists in Thailand working with it, many more than in other countries across Asia.

But it’s the women in Keawsuwan’s artwork—who are based on models and actresses that she admires, like Chinese star Liu Lianzi from Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace—who really communicate her feminine side. “The whole work is related to the feminine outlook I want to present. The women in the work are like flowers,” she elaborates. “Flowers take time to bloom beautifully, and so do we. I want to send a positive message to the viewers.”

To create a piece, Keawsuwan will sketch out some ideas, drawing and editing them on a computer, and then printing the final picture onto linen or cotton cloth. She starts by embroidering thread in large areas and colors, then goes in with finer details later. The whole process is therapeutic for her: “I like that that it takes time and patience. Slowly arranging the threads together into a picture like tiny brush strokes. It feels like a type of meditation for me.”