Ailish Henderson: Bringing Fine Art Narrative Textiles To Life

Ailish Henderson is a fine art textile artist, particularly known for her fine art stitched collage works, which focus on capturing a fleeting moment, telling the story with mixed media, paint, stitch and fabric snippets. She is also the author of 'Narrative Textiles', published by Batsford in October 2024.
In this episode, of Stitchery Stories textile art podcast, host Susan Weeks chats with Ailish Henderson, a narrative textile artist, author, and teacher.
Ailish's work weaves together memory, storytelling, and fine art textiles, often using unique materials to create pieces that evoke personal and collective histories. She shares her excitement about her upcoming book launch, Narrative Textiles, and accompanying solo exhibition in London, where her artworks will bring her book to life.
Ailish also reflects on her journey from a fine art background to embracing textiles and mixed media.
Ailish & Susan chat about:
Upcoming book and exhibition: Ailish is preparing for the launch of her book Narrative Textiles alongside a solo exhibition in October 2024.
Storytelling through textiles: Her work often captures personal stories, memories, and moments, using materials that hold sentimental value.
Inspired by heritage and family: Growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and spending a lot of time with her grandmother who loved knitting greatly influenced her artistic path.
Using vintage and reclaimed materials: Ailish shares how she embraces the imperfections in old fabrics, turning them into meaningful art.
The tension between teaching and creating: Balancing a teaching career with artistic creation, she finds inspiration in the ideas sparked by her students.
Multifaceted art career: From exhibiting internationally to writing, Ailish reflects on the challenges of sustaining an artistic career while also managing other commitments.
The importance of community: She emphasizes the value of artist communities and how sharing ideas with others can spark new creative directions.
Transition from fine art to textiles: Ailish explains how her fine art training influenced her mixed media approach and experimentation with different materials.
Using poetry and writing: She uses her quickly captured words and poetry, along with doodles on whatever is to hand, often capturing thoughts and moments that later inspire her textile work.
For this episode...
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