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Needlepoint artist Natalie Fisher

Natalie Fisher on location.      Natalie Fisher on location      Natalie sewing

Above: Natalie sewing on location and from home.

 

One way to describe textile art is ‘painting with wool,’ and this is exactly what Natalie Fisher does. Here she explains how to transfer her image onto canvas:

” I start by printing my photograph onto an A4 sheet, then I create a tracing of as many details as I can. This is then taken to the printer to enlarge to the finished size. I then do another tracing, this time from the printed cartoon onto blank needlepoint canvas.”

Using a frame for needlepoint is personal preference but Nataile prefers not to, which makes it easier for her to sew on location. Read more of her inspiring interview on her page on this website or visit www.artweave.com.au

Chuck Close Tapestries

DSC07419 3 Chuck Close.. Chuck Close. Chuck Close... Barak Obama tapestry

Machine woven tapestries by Chuck Close exhibited at Ushaw College.

 

Textile art isn’t widely exhibited but the flip side of this is when you come across a textile exhibition it makes it even more special. On a trip home to my home city of Durham in the UK I was thrilled to see six tapestries by Chuck Close. His monochrome photographs have been digitally woven on a Jacquard loom and the juxtaposition of exhibiting these 3 m high tapestries against the Gothic architecture of the chapel is quite incredible. As with all textile art you really want to touch them but unfortunately it’s look only, however, viewing the chapel and the tapestries on their own is visually stunning, and when you combine both it is truly worth visiting.

 

Chuck Close Tapestries are on show until 30th September 2017 at St. Cuthbert’s Chapel, Ushaw, UK www.ushaw.org. Donation encouraged, please check opening times before visiting.

Behind the scenes with embroiderer Rachel Wright

Rachel Wright     Rachel Wright's sewing box    Owls by Rachel Wright

 

Textile art is often described as ‘painting with thread’ and this is exactly what Rachel Wright does. Inspired by her father who was an artist,

and her artistic grandmother she honed her skills at university and started her business in the 1990s. Above is a peak into her creative process, stitch by stitch.

 

www.rachelwright.com

Inside the studio of Anne-Marie Nygaard Eilertsen

IMG_2199b      DSC0127Anne-Marie Nygaard Eilertsen tapestry b

Danish artist  Anne-Marie Nygaard Eilertsen is now based in Southern Spain where she weaves her huge tapestries.

Only about 40 cms of the image is shown and the full image is only revealed once the weaving is completed and it is cut down from the loom.

Find out more about Anne-Marie’s fascinating work on her profile page on this website.

Step-by-Step from Rachel Wright

rachel wright Owls by Rachel Wright

Work in progress by Rachel Wright

We’ll be sharing an interview and work from machine embroider Rachel Wright in a few weeks,

but when she sent through this beautiful work in progress, we couldn’t wait to share it. Sew inspiring!

www.rachelwright.com

Review of ’Queer Threads: Crafting Identity and Community’

ChrisBogia_SelfiewithPinkEyeDetail_QueerThreads LarryKrone_ThenandNowCape_Detail_Queer Threads LJ Roberts_PortraitofDeb_QueerThreads Queer Threads Book Cover

Chris Bogia, ‘Selfie with Pink Eye’ (detail); Larry Krone, ‘Then and Now Cape’ (detail); LJ Roberts, ‘Portrait of Deb’

 

Books about Textile Art are often hard to find which makes ’Queer Threads: Crafting Identity and Community,’ an exciting addition to the genre. It features 30 artists of the LGBTQ community including the brilliant Chiachio and Giannone who we featured on Textile Curator a while ago.The range of artists is truly international and like our website it shows the diversity of fibre art today. From the opulent exquisite embroidery by Larry Krone to the minimalist textural shapes by Chris Bogia. As designer Todd Oldham explains “this book celebrates not just fiber art, but queer creativity, which feels all the more necessary and vital in today’s political climate.” It also includes interviews from a range of people in the arts world including Jonathan Adler and Tim Gunn. Curated by John Chaich with Todd Oldham it is published by AMMO Books and is available now on Amazon.

Rijswijk Textile Biennial 2017

21 Cristian Velasco  22 Murat Yildiz  05 Jenni Dutton

12 Karoline Larsen  13 June Lee 08 Daun Jeong

 

The Textile Biennial 2017 is now in it’s fifth year and features 24 international artists. It is incredibly varied including textile techniques such as knitting, embroidery and weaving.

Work shown above is:

Cristiàn Velasco, País Soñado (Country Dream), 2013, embroidery on cotton, 500 x 150 cm. Photo: Cristiàn Velasco

Murat Yildiz, Detail I Can’t Speak, 2015, thread on canvas, 50 x 70 cm. Photo: ©Murat Yildiz

Jenni Dutton, Dementia Darning: Mum rubbing her hands, 2012, wool threads, fine netting, canvas, 130 x 90 cm. Photo: Rupert Mardon

Karoline H Larsen, Collective Strings, 2014. participatory installation three days, Helsinki Festival, Finland. Photo: Anu Pynnönen

June Lee, Detail Bystander, 2016, thread on plastic cast, 24 x 5 x 4 cm each figure. Photo: Myoung Studio

Daun Jeong, Fabric Drawing Yellow Lines, 2016, fabrics, frame, acrylic on canvas, 90.9 x 72.7cm. Photo: ©Daun Jeong

 

The exhibition runs until the 24th of September at Museum Rijswijk, Herenstraat 67, 2282 BR Rijswijk, The Netherlands and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am -5pm.

For more details visit www.museumrijswijk.nl

Sarah Perret

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Part of the appeal of textiles is using methods passed down through generations that don’t rely on machines or technology, so it is hardly surprising that tracking down some of the artists I feature is a bit tricky. French tapestry artist Sarah Perret is our first featured artist without a social media presence, and while finding Sarah took a bit longer than usual it made the journey all worthwhile as to profile her and her work was a real pleasure and something you don’t find on numerous other social media. Thank you Sarah for being on www.textilecurator.com!

Penny Mateer

Mateer studio          Mateer THIS Revolution Will Not Be Televised det

 

Penny Mateer’s studio and detail from This Revolution will not be televised (2015) in collaboration with Martha Wasik

 

Throughout time textiles have been used to tell a narrative and Penny Mateer’s work is no exception. Originally she thought quilts were “purely  utilitarian objects, [but over time] I began to see the potential for quilt making as a way to ask questions and tell stories.” Penny’s work tells more stories than most, partly due to her earlier career as a social worker.

“I advocated for individuals who often were forgotten or had no voice. So I began to realise as I transitioned out of social work to art making that I could use what I learned about advocacy and apply it to my art practice and in so doing develop my artistic voice which centres on protest art and commentary. “

To keep her work fresh she creates collages from The NY Times and posts daily on her Instagram feed. Keep up to date with Penny’s work at www.instagram.com/pennymateer/ or check out her website www.pennymateer.com  

 

 

 

 

Alicia Scardetta

Alicia Scardetta_studio-01    Alicia Scardetta_studio_02     Alicia Scardetta_studio-04

[Photos by Will Ellis]

 

 

The process of textiles comes from techniques that have been practised for hundreds of years so it’s hardly surprising that the majority of textile art tends to be more traditional in it’s subject matter. This is why it is so refreshing to see artists who use time honoured techniques in a way that is fresh and contemporary. One artist currently doing this is Alicia Scardetta who weaves in a converted bedroom in her New York apartment. She says  “the wrapping techniques throughout my work are reminiscent of friendship bracelets and the colors I use wouldn’t be out of place in a Nickelodeon cartoon.” It’s hard to find more current references!

 

 

Find out more on her profile page or visit www.aliciascardetta.com