By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Colorful canvases of thread decorate the walls of Miriam Polish’s Seabrook home in Tinton Falls. The flawlessly detailed depictions of Chinese geisha, Hollywood stars, and lively clowns, among other scenes, have all been hand-stitched by Polish over the past 35 years.

Needleart magic
Polish was hooked by the art of needlepoint from the very beginning. “It came naturally to me. I love coordinating the colors and often change colors on the pattern to create my own design,” she says.

She began as a knitter, but she says she found needlepoint fascinating. According to Merriam-Webster, needlepoint is the art of creating simple, even stitches with thread across a painted canvas. Polish also pettypoints, which is a form of needlepoint that uses the same technique but with even smaller stitches.

It takes math; it takes creativity; it takes patience. And its history goes back thousands of years. One of many “needlearts”—which include embroidery, cross-stitch, knitting, crocheting, and embellishing—needlepoint was first used by the ancient Egyptians to sew up their canvas tents. According to the National Needlearts Association, the Bible also makes several references to needlepoint. It was used to decorate religious articles such as the worship tent in ancient Israel.

Now artists use needlepoint to create and decorate bags, pillows, clothing,  belts, purses, and even shoes.

Humble artist
With her own walls full of needlepoint “paintings,” Polish creates most of her new pieces as gifts. “I call it my inventory,” she says, and it includes glasses cases, change purses, cosmetic bags, and scissor cases, among other items.

Recently she finished a three-piece set of needlepoint teapot pictures for her daughter-in-law. Each teapot, roughly five inches squared, took her one month to complete.