About

Anna Hutchinson, a contemporary textile and fibre artist based in county Limerick, Ireland

Working predominantly in machine embroidery, Anna creates interpretative, abstract works that explore nature, colour, pattern, and connection: the threads of life. Her pieces are stitched slowly and intentionally, reflecting a quiet sense of rhythm, presence, and emotional resonance.

Entirely self-taught, Anna has been surrounded by textiles and handwork all her life. She returned to sewing in 2012, but it was only in recent years that she fully embraced her identity as an artist; a shift that marked both a personal and creative transformation.

Her practice draws deeply from lived experience: the softness of memory, the stillness of the landscape, how everything is connected, and the ways in which threads can hold emotion, time, and meaning. She often speaks of her journey as a process of stitching herself back together one thread, one choice, one conscious return to creativity at a time.

Anna’s work is framed with care using archival methods and museum-grade materials. Each piece is one of a kind, mounted on high quality materials and housed in custom-made shadow box frames with anti-reflective Artglass.

Artist Statement

My work is a conversation between fibres and feelings. I use freemotion machine embroidery to explore abstract forms that connect to nature, memory, and emotional landscapes. The rhythm of stitching. its repetition, its pauses, offers a space for reflection, and a way of drawing that is intuitive and tactile. Thread gives me a way to work with focus and intention. Each stitch marks time, builds rhythm, and gives shape to feeling. 

I often return to ideas of connection, inherited threads, and the emotional weight of colour. The works evolve guided by intuition more than plan. My pieces, mounted off the ground surface, invite the viewer to slow their attention, reflect, and be drawn in to the pieces; to see the beauty in the shadows cast. 

I see this free form of stitching not only as a technique, but as a way to map meaning; emotional, spatial, and inherited.

Artist Profile

Self-taught textile and fibre artist working primarily in machine embroidery. I create interpretative, abstract works exploring nature, pattern, memory, and connection. My practice includes original stitched artworks and fine art prints, mounted and framed to exhibition standard using archival and museum-quality materials.

Art Practice Overview

  • 2012 - present: 

    • Active studio practice in textile art and embroidery.

    • Developing a body of work of cultural and historical significance, drawing from townlands of Ireland and the Irish language.

    • May - June 2025: Our Land, Our Story exhibition in collaboration with a local singer-songwriter writer, St. John’s Theatre & Arts Centre, Listowel, Co. Kerry. 

    • July - August 2025: Solo exhibition in Ebzery’s Boutique Café, Foynes, Co.Limerick.

    • Numerous private commissions completed for collectors .

  • 2019 River of Dreams group exhibition, Limerick School of Art & Design.

  • 2019 Works featured on RTÉ Nationwide - Tullamore Show segment (textile work coverage).

  • 2015 Group exhibition for Mental Health Awareness, St. Patrick’s Hospital, Dublin.

  • 2012 - 2014 Group Exhibitions and Fairs with Castle Keep Art, Maynooth, Co.Kildare.

Awards, Recognition, Exhibitions

  • 2025 (July)
    Solo Exhibition at Ebzery’s Boutique Café, Foynes, Co.Limerick,

  • 2025 (June)
    Our Land, Our Story (collaborative exhibition with local writer)
    Location: Listowel, Co.Kerry

  • Monstera Deliciosa I - Selected for first-stage jurying, 144th RUA Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast (2025)

Skills

  • Machine, free-motion embroidery 

  • Textile composition and layering

  • Abstract visual storytelling

  • Mixed media work incorporating metal leaf, pastel, charcoal, and pencil

  • Digital design for artwork development and presentation

  • Interpretation of nature, colour, and pattern in design

  • Fabric handling and manipulation

  • Artwork presentation and archival mounting

  • Framing for exhibition using museum-grade materials

  • Self-directed project development

  • Visual documentation and styling for digital platforms

  • Written artist communication 

  • Website and portfolio management

  • Public engagement and audience connection

Memberships

  • Listowel Visual Artist’ Collective

  • Visual Artists Ireland


Anna, in her own words

Anna speaks about her artistic practice and return to the world of creativity.