Strange Plants, Beijing (2019)
20 x 14 cms
embroidery on photograph
Heather Beardsley
Strange Plants, Kyiv (2019)
17 x 10 cms
embroidery on photograph
Strange Plants, Vienna (2019)
20 x 13 cms
embroidery on photograph
Strange Plants, Chicago (2020)
21 x 29 cms
embroidery on photograph
Strange Plants, Yalta (2020)
24 x 32 cms
embroidery on photograph
Strange Plants, Budapest (2018)
15 x 23 cms
embroidery on photograph
Strange Plants, Kyiv (2019)
17 x 10 cms
embroidery on photograph
Strange Plants, Kyiv (2020)
69 x 69 cms
embroidery and collage on embroidered linen
Strange Plants, Kyiv (2019)
24 x 43 cms
embroidery and gel transfer on embroidered linen
American artist Heather Beardsley could be called an ‘Artist Nomad’. Since graduating she has travelled the world on scholarships and residencies that have translated into a portfolio of work rich in techniques and themes. Her recent work addresses environmental issues through hand embroidery. “I like my work to have a purpose and a concept as well as being visually stimulating.”
Firstly where are you based and where do you work?
I’m from Virginia in the United States but I’ve been moving around for the last four to five years. Since Covid I’ve been living in Virginia at my parents house and have a space to work there, but luckily embroidery is portable. I have a studio in my suitcase.
What is your background in textiles?
I discovered fiber art quite late. I did Liberal Arts with some painting classes and used fabric in some collages. I was then an Assistant to a professor and I had to demo some embroidery so I learned more about it then. I went on to gain a MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduating I went to Vienna for twelve months on a ‘Fulbright Scholarship for Installation Art.’ I then was awarded a twelve month scholarship in Germany and I’ve done a lot of residencies since.
How do you describe your work?
I bounce between materials and bodies of work including embroidery and fabric collages but I’ve also done cyanotypes using recycled food packaging, as well as sculpture with air-dry clay. The link is it’s all super time consuming, delicate and requires dexterity. Plus it’s naturally meditative.
I’ve done a lot of environmentally based themes. I love looking at nature and the illustrations of plants and animals, so the environment gives me purpose and concept. I like my work to have a concept as well as be visually stimulating.
How do you work? Do you use sketchbooks or make samples?
Sometimes I use sketchbooks but the embroidery on photographs has become intuitive as I’ve done it for a few years now and I know what stitches work on paper. For my work with found textiles which I started last Autumn I usually lay that out first.
When you stitch on paper how does it not rip?
I know what stitches to use now and I coat the photographs in a clear acrylic gel and sometimes I reinforce the back with transparent matte tape.
I know it’s a hard question but how long does a piece take?
It really depends on the type of stitches, although I’ve become faster. Small pieces can take three to four hours while larger work can take twenty to thirty hours.
You have done a lot of residencies, how do you find out about them?
I find them on websites and having done some in the last few years you make friends and people share stuff with each other. As they offer funding there is about five percent acceptance rate so I apply to a lot. There is a slim chance of getting it and Art is so subjective, so I’ve learned that I need to be efficient time wise, art wise and mental health wise.
Residencies definitely shape my work. After my scholarship in Vienna I decided I wanted to keep doing it. I love travelling and spending time abroad. Residencies have a deadline and outcome at the end as the work is shown, and I usually give a talk. It gives me a purpose and an end game.
What is your art highlight to date?
So far it was my time in Kyiv last year. I loved the Brutalist architecture. The Soviet architecture is at a place where it needs to be replaced or renewed and I enjoyed talking to younger people about it and showing my work.
Being part of the exhibition Fake at the Science Gallery in Dublin, Ireland was another highlight. They are really good at outreach so I met a lot of people who wouldn’t usually go to a fiber art show.
Do you have any advice for aspiring textile artists?
Look at artist’s websites and resumes who are ahead of you and are where you want to be in five years time. Have specific goals, art can be commercial, academic etc. or lead to another career. There is not one path for everyone.