About Ana
Artists Statement
We are all human. How we come to be who we are, how we think, feel and react to the world in which we live, is the compelling interest and inspiration in the work I create.
Stitch, for me, is a way of communicating, of expressing my own thoughts and feelings, of remembering something that deeply touched me or of expressing wishes and desires.
Cloth, and clothes in particular, carry connection to history and stories in our lives. Whether to make personal statements or show status, whether to warm or decorate, attract or repel, cloth communicates, whether we are conscious of it or not. It is a powerful canvas and when marked by stitch, the soul either shows itself or is hidden by it.
Ana Kirby
Born and raised in South Africa, but of Portuguese origin, I grew up surrounded by women who valued and enjoyed fabric, thread, yarn and embellishments of all kinds. Mostly they took great pleasure in transforming these into either useful or beautiful objects, and more often than not both.
As a young girl and growing adult I made various wearable items both in knitted yarn and sewn fabric. Throughout my professional life I continued to create but mainly as a hobby, or when useful items for the family or home were required.
The joy of textiles
It was after semi retirement in 2008 that I engaged with textiles and the joy of creating in a more focussed way. I was living in France at the time and enrolled in a City and Guilds Patchwork and Quilting Course.
The love of fabric with all it holds in its texture and colour and story has deepened and widened over the years to the stage where I am always engaged with various creative projects at any point in time.
Having moved back to the U.K. in 2014 I was fortunate to have been accepted by the Contemporary Quilters West group as a member, a group of talented and generous women who have given me the opportunity, the challenge, and the support to continue to develop my own creativity.
Within this practice of creative listening there are some threads that have been fairly consistent and some that keep shifting organically. Part of my fascination with the human condition is a deep interest in my own origins, a wish to know where I have come from, what has happened in my own heritage both cultural and familial and how what I have been given has combined with what was present in the world I was born into. And so a number of my pieces are to do with family history and heirlooms.
More recently I have felt compelled to speak about the plight of children in Children’s Homes. In my professional life as a clinical psychologist I often worked with this often challenging but oh so brilliant group of humans. I feel passionate about how they are not getting what they deserve. So am now airing my voice in a different way - through my stitch.
My Own Creative Development
Over time my artistic side has developed and so has the focus of my work shifted somewhat. The biggest change has been in letting go of the ‘outer inspired’ work. Between 2019 and 2022 I was part of a very inspiring group called SixDames, an Anglo-French group comprising six women. Every three months one member presented the inspration, whether a theme or a photo and each member created a piece in response. The work I created can be seen in the Gallery Section under ‘Earlier Work’. The catalogue of all SixDames
The majority of my work does not emerge from an inspirational image or scene or subject matter but rather from an inner impulse that I feel compelled to express. The psychological practice of journalling, dream analysis, stillness, meditation and body movement often reveals what wants or needs to be said. I choose to give it time, space and engagement. This is what mainly inspires my work.
The practice of Slow Stitching is one that has permeated through much of my work. It enables the body / the nervous system to relax, it allows the inner voice and thoughts to come to the surface . When we are busy we are mainly driven by the demands from the outside, essential to earn a living and respond to the world around us. But balancing the active and relaxing times in the system is essential for good health, both physical and mental. The practice of Slow Stitch allows us to slow down and go back inside and listen to the wisdom within.
