How Our Artist of the Month Nara Guichon Turns Discarded Fishing Nets into Meaningful Art

We’re excited to introduce Nara Guichon, a Brazilian textile artist and environmentalist, as our Artist of the Month on the Women in Arts Network. In this conversation, Nara talks about how her life, values, and creative work are deeply connected to nature. She shares how her early memories of knitting and growing up in a resourceful household shaped how she approaches art today, reusing discarded fishing nets and fabrics that would otherwise pollute the oceans.

We also learn how the Atlantic Forest, where she lives, continues to inspire her, and why she sees working with her hands as both a practice and a form of responsibility. Nara doesn’t follow a plan when she creates—everything comes from instinct and what the materials bring out in her. Her work invites us to look at waste differently, and maybe even ask ourselves what we can do with what’s already around us.

My work is made with polyamide fishing nets, a deadly hazard adrift in the oceans. I have a passion for caring for life, and as such, I use only waste as nets and fabrics discarded by the fishing and fashion industry to weave my art, showing that trash is only trash because it is in the wrong place. As a technique, I use knitting, but an absolute deconstruction of the method I have mastered since I was young. I don’t make projects; everything comes intuitively, and I am inspired by the enchantment of textures and colours obtained through a slow dyeing process using plants, iron filings, and vinegar.

1. You began knitting at a very young age—how did your early experiences with wool and family traditions shape your path as a textile artist?   

I was born in a place with harsh winters where wool was a constant presence in our lives, and we knitted our clothes and blankets. So, the comfort and cosiness of this fibre, these crafts were and are part of me; they shaped my being. The knitted clothes were dismantled to be remade. We didn’t throw them away; we recreated them with what we had. In short, I was raised in a sustainable environment when this term didn’t have the meaning it has today.

Trash is only trash because it is in the wrong place.

Tina Bopiah

2.  How does your connection to the natural world influence how you choose materials and create your work?     

What I do has always been connected to my ethical values and way of life, so I use only things that are invaluable to others because they are treasures that stimulate my creativity. I don’t need to buy stuff as there is enough on the planet to be reused. What I propose as textile work brings what needs to be denounced or valued in its material and process. Are fishing nets discarded as trash a terrible material? Yes, when abandoned in the sea, it pollutes, kills millions of animals and destroys our own lives. But can we give them another direction, another destiny? This is a question, a reflection that my work can generate.

3.   You balance artisanal traditions with environmental activism. How do those two worlds come together in your creative process?  

These two worlds are together in my creative process because I was born this way and grew up in such an environment. As a child, I helped work in the garden and orchard and cared for the animals with my grandmother. When she swept the dry leaves and burned them, I had an intuition and knew that it was wrong, but I didn’t know how to question or argue about my conviction. The other fact, already mentioned, is that traditional manual techniques were my school.

4.   What role does spirituality play in your textile art and life as a designer and environmentalist?  

I usually say that my religion is nature. So, my care for nature comes from my awareness and gratitude for everything that is alive. I am enchanted by the beauty, life, and perfection of planet Earth.

I usually say that my religion is nature.

Tina Bopiah

5. The Atlantic Forest is a recurring theme in your work. What does this biome represent to you personally and artistically?    

The Atlantic Forest biome, where I live, is a source of nourishment both in the sense of harmonious coexistence with it, of enchantment by all the beauty and surprises it offers us, as well as in the sense of drawing attention to this biome of which only 7% of its original area remains. Part of my activism is to restore these forests by planting native trees from the region, publicising these actions to draw attention to their vital importance and that if we wanted to, we could stimulate the recovery of the Earth.

6. Congratulations on being featured as Artist of the Month by the Women In Arts Network! How do you think opportunities like this help elevate your career and open new doors for your creative journey?  

Without a doubt, being featured as Artist of the Month by Women in Art is a great opportunity to be seen, convey my purpose and philosophy of life, and even influence readers in the most diverse parts of the world. Thank you very much!!!!!!

Nara Guichon’s work teaches us that beauty and purpose can be found in the most unexpected places, like discarded fishing nets and leftover fabric. Her journey shows us that caring for the planet doesn’t require grand gestures, but rather a commitment to use what’s already around us with creativity and intention. Through her hands, what was once waste becomes something that starts conversations about sustainability, respect for nature, and the quiet strength of traditions passed down through generations. Her story is about making textiles and how a way of living can become a way of creating. To learn more about Nara, visit the links below.