The Seventeenth Letter is a creative exercise in mindfulness by Quyen Do, also known as Q.

Quyen worked for many years in textiles as a silk screen printer and digital surface pattern designer. Agents and studios in Australia and the USA sold her designs to iconic fashion labels and homeware companies for a broad range of product applications, from footwear to furnishings and swim wear. Her modest eco-conscious clothing and accessories label found stockists in boutiques and galleries across Australia. In recent years she has enjoyed working in glass processing as a consultant to architects and artists for digitally printed art glass projects, ranging from bespoke sculptures to large scale commercial works.

Pattern, repetition, tessellation and line have been recurring elements in her textile work for many years. With a love for tactile surface, art deco style, sashiko embroidery, geometry and paper folding (just to name a few influences) this project is a step back to a slow art practice from what has largely been a digital career. These works speak in small and loud ways, of those interests that have been a common thread for decades.

The Seventeenth Letter project is personal. Quyen struggled with PND after the birth of her 2nd child. As things began turning a corner, she faced a relationship breakdown and the sudden passing of her oldest and dearest friend. With not too much hesitation, life slowed, each minute became more valuable and this body of work was borne. Every restful stitch in these artworks is pulled through with thought in mind for those navigating the mental health wilderness, in this world that can too easily isolate us from one another and can sometimes move too fast.

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A percentage of all sales will be donated to PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia)