Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Tirella.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Born and raised in Upstate New York, I moved to Boston in 2010 for school and never looked back. Originally studying photography, I found myself lost and looking for something different after being critiqued alongside photographers that were more passionate and frankly, better. I eventually dropped out and began working in restaurants, casually searching for what really lit a fire under my ass. In 2014, I was injured and out of work for a month. At the time I was an avid knitter but I wasn’t getting enough instant gratification out of it, and basically everyone I knew already had 3 scarves from me so it was time to find something new.
My mom has always been a talented hand-quilter and I thought, why not embroidery? It’s inexpensive, fast, it doesn’t take up a lot of space and I already have most of the materials from dabbling in it during high school. Since then it’s been a love affair with hand sewing of all types, sashiko, cross stitch, crewel, you name it, I was into it. I started doing markets and trying to get my name out there and eventually got the opportunity to start teaching embroidery classes at a magical place called Gather Here in Cambridge. Since then I have been teaching classes all across the Boston area from MassArt to MIT and everywhere in between.
Please tell us about your art.
Anything hand-sewing is what I do. I work mostly with meditative embroidery, getting lost in the stitches, sometimes not even varying the stitch I’m doing for the entire piece. I struggle a lot with patience so hand-sewing helps me slow down and be in the moment. I have a hard time sitting down and just being still, so sewing allows me an excuse to relax on the couch without staring at my phone the whole time. I also work a lot with sustainability in the textile industry and fiber waste. For example, I recently made an artist’s book using only discarded textiles from my personal practice. I’m still experimenting and trying to find my voice but I’m just trying to teach myself to pause a little bit more.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
Local exposure. It’s so easy to get lost among all the talented artists in the world, it’s difficult to gain momentum locally. I also think a lot of people are taught that they can’t possibly make a living being an artist but that’s so far from the truth. It needs to be run just like any other business, of course it’s not easy but it’s definitely possible.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I hope to do a few local markets over the summer months but I actually just opened a small business in Somerville called Make & Mend, a second-hand art and craft supply shop. My works can be seen at highstitch.com and my etsy shop is bursting with goods.
Contact Info:
- Website: highstitch.com
- Email: emily@highstitch.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/emilytirella
- Facebook: facebook.com/emilytirellaembroidery
Image Credit:
1. Spooquet – hand-embroidery on bleached muslin mounted on embroidery hoop – 2018
2. Wedding Embroidery – hand embroidery with embroidery floss on unbleached muslin mounted on embroidery hoop – 2018
3. Mandala No. 21 – hand embroidery on bleached muslin mounted on embroidery hoop – 2018
4. Embroidery on Discarded Library Book – hand embroidery on paper – 2018
5. Mandala No. 15 – hand embroidery on un-bleached muslin mounted on embroidery hoop – 2015
6. Embroidery Painting – hand embroidery on un-bleached muslin – 2017
7. Cyanotype Lace Quilt – cyanotype on bleached muslin, hand quilted into a banner – 2017
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