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Kirsty Greer

The Northern School of Art

My name is Kirsty Greer and I am a textile artist from Northern Ireland. My main interests are anything to do with animals and stitching! I use these in my work, where I mainly focus on floral and fauna in my work. My main textile specialisms are embroidery (both hand and machine) as well as mixed media work. I love using upcycled materials, which I source from charity shops or friends/family which I then dye or stitch to make into art. My work is aimed for at nature lovers and who have an appreciation for the time-consuming beauty of embroidery! I want people to feel enchanted with my work and feel as if all the wee animals are chatting and have a story.

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An Embroidered Country Diary

Category: Interior

Competitions: Home Competition 2026

Inspiration for the pieces came from ‘The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady’ book, where the author ‘Edith Holden’ illustrates and writes about her experiences in nature. This book has a gorgeous vintage feel along with beautiful and cozy illustrations. I wanted to create a vintage inspired piece, that captured my experiences in nature but using textile art instead of the traditional illustrations of the book. The pieces are large panels with a raw edge to appear as if pages were taken out of a book and stitched into artwork. In my artistic practice I focus on sustainability and using natural materials. The fabric for the piece were all sourced second hand and were originally 100% cotton sheets. I really value using natural materials in my work especially since the textiles industry is one of the top polluting sectors, think its really important to use natural and upcycled fabrics. To sample techniques and process for my final piece I sourced old Irish linen handkerchiefs/sheets. I love the detailed embroidery and vintage quality these feature as well as playing a part in my sustainable practice. To give the piece a vintage quality I stained the natural fabric with the tea/coffee, as well as dying the materials the appropriate season colours. The text featured, is personal stories and memories from each season which was then screen-printed on the fabric in a cursive text. The piece heavily features embroidery (hand and machine) as well as mixed media practices such as, beading, image transfer, screenprint, ribbon embroidery, fabric dyeing, water-soluble fabric stitching and applique. I didn’t want the piece to be like a traditional historical piece of embroidery with flat long satin stitches which look realistic. To give a modern take on embroidery I layered many different techniques to create a 3 dimensional artwork that emerges from the edges of fabric to give that natural aesthetic and feel. The piece is designed to be hung up and displayed as a piece of stitched interior design- very commercial with a traditional theme of animals and nature and nice texture detail.

In association with Arts Thread

Working with our partners at Arts Thread to develop lifelong learning and career opportunities for students of fashion and design. Our partnership provides the opportunity to compete on a world stage, participate in industry led workshops, set up an outstanding portfolio and gain access to the resources that will kickstart careers in fashion and design.