The Artist Who Turns Memories into Stunning Fibre Art
To call Alicia Kirwan's creations mere ‘crafts’ seems like an understatement — one that doesn't fully recognise the sheer amount of effort, and heart, that goes into each piece.
Each of Kirwan's fibre artworks take anywhere from several weeks to months to complete: They also use an affectionate hodgepodge of materials that range from tulle to preserved flowers to create their signature dreamlike look.
But what sets her work apart is her emphasis on memories; each of Kirwan's works draw directly from her clients' favourite memories, which she reinterprets on her canvas.
Through Beeyarnd, Kirwan says she hopes to add more softness and sentiment into peoples' everyday lives — something she learned to do for herself during the lockdown.
"To me, Beeyarnd was a silver lining during the pandemic," says Kirwan. "It gave me plenty of time to focus on my creative endeavours, and to see that there is beauty in darkness."
How would you describe your creations?
In its simplest form, I would describe my creations as a multi-sensory fibre art. Every piece is a visual analogy of your most treasured memories, a significant milestone, or the ideal mood in a space.
The pieces are handmade using a latch hooking technique invented in the 19th century. As everything is hand-latched by me, every piece is unique, timeless and carefully curated.
Tell me about your creative process: How do you create a custom Beeyarnd work?
The process starts with asking clients a series of questions, like:
- What’s a memory or holiday you remember vividly?
- Name 4 colours that represent you.
- Describe a mood you are looking for to spruce up your safe space.
I would then create a mood board with 4-5 photos based on their answers. After confirming the mood board with the clients, I will sketch out the piece before I start creating it.
Through my years of being a food stylist, and as a visual creative, I’m always curious how people perceive colours based on their memory, experience and mood. Colours are evocative, and they impact how we feel to a large extent. And I also believe that we are conditioned to be visual learners.
One of my recent commissioned works was for a newlywed. They wanted a fibre art piece in their living room to represent their idyllic memory of their island-hopping trip in Bali. Memories are personal to everyone, so I am honoured to be given an opportunity to breathe life into their experiences.
What materials do you use in your art?
Tulle, pearls, preserved flowers, and ropes are some of the materials I use, along with yarn and threads. These materials are largely inspired by fashion runways and reality shows like Rupaul’s Drag Race. I love how these mediums create a layered effect to my works: it enhances the liveliness in every piece of fibre art.
Tulle is often associated with romance, daintiness, and extravagance, pearls remind me of the dew drops on leaves after a pouring rain, and preserved flowers are my favourite go-to ingredient to create an ethereal garden and universe.
Once you have the idea down, what's the work process like?
A fibre art piece takes between 2 weeks to 1 month of work to complete -- more for larger canvas and frames. I rely on a more liberal latch-hook technique, where every pre-cut yarn thread is attached to the rug hooking canvas, one row at a time. This allows me to manipulate the materials and retract my steps without damaging the entire art piece.
What are some of your most memorable and meaningful creations?
There are two meaningful creations I hold near to my heart. Heartwood was named after my in-laws’ home back in Aberdeeshire, Scotland. For the past three years, I spent my Christmas with them in their rustic cottage, surrounded by silver birch trees - it gets cosier in the winter. It is the perfect sanctuary, my safe haven, and an oasis of peace away from the bustling city life. I gifted my in-laws with Heartwood. It was a token of my gratitude and love for them, to thank them for being one of my first few cheerleaders when I started Beeyarnd.
The second piece is Athena - I found it the hardest to part with this artwork. I paused Beeyarnd for a couple of months due to my other work commitments. And when I picked up the needles again, I felt this sense of renewed strength. This inspired me to create my most recent capsule collection, Goddess.
Athena was my first creation in this collection, where I found creative growth in myself to present neutral-coloured yarn and flowers in an elegant, understated way. Athena stands for wisdom, craft and female empowerment — and that gave me a deeper meaning to construct a tangible piece emanating grace and courage, a reminder to myself. Within minutes after the collection went live on my website, Athena was sold to a loyal customer.
How did you start Beeyarnd in the first place?
Before Beeyarnd, I was looking to pick up latch hooking as a hobby to try to fill the void from working long hours as a full-time food stylist: I was feeling burned out by the long hours and the lack of mental break.
Then during my wedding week, I had pockets of conversations with my partner’s family members, and it dawned upon me that they were not defined by their occupation. Instead, their personalities, and who they are as people, were shaped by their hobbies, interests and experiences. When that realisation hit, I was appalled by the fact that my life is devoted to my work. (Disclaimer, food styling is still something I am passionate about; I’m just a little weary.)
This reaffirmed my thoughts: I wanted a hobby that allowed me to experiment and be creative without any boundaries. After my wedding, I took a leap of faith and signed up for a latch-hooking course online. I learnt this traditional technique from a Peruvian textile artist, Mariana Baertl.
Through time, I learned to slow down and embraced every opportunity to explore things that inspired me, such as intriguing colour combinations from films, magazines and Mother Earth. With these ideas, I took to the needle and created one fibre piece at a time. I feel alive and at peace every time I create a sensory artwork for my loved ones - they were the guinea pigs.
My friends told me that they could feel my joy and energy radiated from my art, and some of them said that my pieces had a calming effect on them. So I thought why not start something to spread that calming, joyous mood — even more so in these trying times.
What do you hope that your creations can do for the spaces and the people that they are for?
Ever since working from home became the default in recent months, more people see the importance in creating a conducive environment at home, especially in their home office, where they spend most of their time. I hope that my use of soft hues, serene colours, and lustrous textures in my fibre art pieces can serve as a soothing presence in their living space — both to enhance their state of mind, and to add life to their walls.
More importantly, the other reason I started Beeyard is to uphold a traditional craft through modern abstract patterns and colours, to keep it relevant to our lives.
