Featured Artist: Michael Donohue

Featured in the Craft Ontario Queen Shop from March 7 - April 6, 2025, Michael Donohue's freeform crocheted florals cover the Feature Window creating a textile garden!

Click here for the full collection!

Poppies by Michael Donohue

Michael Donohue is a fibre, crochet artist with a deep-seated reverence for the natural world. His work centers around a profound fascination with florals and how we interact with our environment. 

Donohue first learned crochet as a child from his grandma, but it wasn’t until he began exploring textiles & crochet during the pandemic that he really fell in love with the technique. “I had a bunch of florals leftover after making my friend a blanket and decided to try putting them together, making a scene. It’s from this that my style has grown.”

Helios by Michael Donohue

The organic nature of crochet is ideally suited to the growth and development of petals, stems, vines, and leaves; and each stitch is a breath of life into his creations. Freeform crochet – crochet without the use of any pattern – is a continually evolving and growing, organic process.

Donohue’s artistic journey is an ongoing exploration of techniques, textures, and colours that translate into tactile, handcrafted pieces. Each one a unique reflection of his personal interpretation of, and emotional connection to, the floral subject. In essence, his work is a love letter to nature, penned in thread and fibre - an ever-evolving ode to the floral world that continues to inspire, captivate, and ground him - each piece a celebration of the intricate beauty of the world around us.

Clematis by Michael Donohue

“I feel that crochet is an ideal craft for exploring organic subject matter - it can’t really be produced by machine, it’s a slow process of organic growth.”

Donohue works with natural fibres like cotton & wool, which reinforces his organic subject matter. “It’s sort of a rejection of machine-made.”

When asked about the decision to feature wall pieces, Michael said: “I’ve made many blankets and a few apparel pieces, and continue to do so, but for my pieces I like the idea that they’re more like pictures or paintings, rather than something that’s more utilitarian. The techniques and materials I’m using aren’t necessarily suited to more traditional objects. For these I’m more focused on the image and colour than the “feel” of the final object.”

“I’d like to think that my work communicates my feelings about the beauty of nature and invites the viewer to take a moment to appreciate the world around us. The idea of taking a step back from technology, from machine-made, and embracing nature and the handmade - this really appeals to me. I’m really looking forward to continuing my work and exploring ideas about the machine-made vs handmade, how we interact with the natural world around us, how the city interacts with nature.”

Morning Glory by Michael Donohue

Make sure to visit the Craft Ontario Queen Shop between March 7 - April 6, 2025 to see Michael Donohue's Featured freeform crocheted florals!