Alison King. Textile Artist.

“There is a moment in the creative process when something ‘clicks’, an idea surfaces and the result of that idea fuels excitement. When I combined my two loves; photography and textiles, that moment happened for me.”

My process begins with my imagery. My inspirations are vast—nature, city streets, broken down buildings, animals—you name it. I am drawn to textural subjects that benefit from the intricacy of my technique. Once my imagery is in printed form, I begin to deconstruct it, keeping elements of the photograph I want to use in my work, and discarding the rest. Then using a variety of fabrics, I cut, manipulate, layer and machine stitch them to recreate my subject matter. Conscious of the environment and the incredible amount of global annual textile waste, I try to repurpose fabrics in my work whenever possible. My work is created using a free motion stitching technique which allows me full control over how the thread is used. I describe my stitching as ‘painting with thread’. I use it to add fine details and mimic the characteristics I see in my original subjects. Throughout my artistic process, I stitch portions of my imagery together with my textiles striving for a harmonious blend of these two mediums.

While photography and textiles are quite contrasting, I have always loved the harmony between them. The imagery brings realism to the textiles, and the textiles brings life and dimension to the imagery. From a distance my work is often mistaken solely as a photograph, or a painting. It is when viewed up close that it offers an element of surprise when people realize is it actually sewn.

Through my art I hope to challenge the way we view things, inviting people to slow down and appreciate the beauty that can be found in something as simple as tree bark, weathered wood, or decomposing brick. I hope to bring a fresh take to the use of textiles in fine art and above all else, I hope my work brings enjoyment to others, as it does to me.

—Alison King.