On September 18, 2025, we were pleased to have Ana Falceta provide a presentation related to her work. Here is a summary of that presentation.
A Brazilian-Canadian mixed media artist, Ana creates works that combine watercolour painting and embroidery. She began her presentation by recounting her creative journey from childhood in Brazil, where she was influenced by her mother and grandmothers’ craft traditions, to her eventual artistic practice that merges paint, paper, and thread.
Initially trained in tourism and hospitality, Ana worked in that field for over a decade before discovering bookbinding, which introduced her to patience, precision, and the tactile joy of working with paper. Teaching bookbinding deepened her appreciation for community and creative exchange.
Ana’s exploration of watercolour painting began alongside bookbinding, offering a contrast between the control of craft and the freedom of paint. After moving to Canada in 2016, she studied textile design at Sheridan College, where she experimented with surface design, dyeing, weaving, felting, and embroidery. Ana’s capstone project, exploring memory through layered textile panels, was transformative—helping her see textiles as expressive, story-bearing media.
The pivotal moment came when she began stitching directly onto her watercolour paintings, merging her two practices. Her first experiment, using a bookbinding stitch (the caterpillar stitch), revealed a new visual language where embroidery connected and deepened the painted forms. Ana stated that her creative process now unfolds in three stages:
Painting – intuitive, inspired by aerial views and landscapes.
Embellishing – adding marks and textures to create rhythm and emotional tone
Embroidering – slowing the process, adding tactile depth and connection.
As a result of her creative process, Ana has developed custom templates to make embroidering on paper easier and shares them through her website, www.anafalceta.com. Her work is recognized for vibrant colours, bold black lines, and layered textures.
Ana has exhibited internationally, won awards (including second place in a U.S. surface design competition), and had her work featured in Flow Magazine (2024).
Through Instagram, Ana shares her process videos, valuing connection and the meditative, grounding nature of handmade work. She also runs a subscription-based video series, offering insight into her techniques and practice.
During the question and answer period, Ana discussed the technical aspects of her work such as using heavy watercolour paper (300–600 GSM), letting it dry fully before stitching, and working with strong linen and cotton threads (notably Anchor Frescia). She frames her finished works behind glass for protection. As to future plans, she acknowledged that there are plans to eventually publish a book.
NOTE: All pictures were those of the artist, Ana Falceta, who owns he copyright and were used with permission.