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May 25, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

Ailish Henderson

 

British Textile Artist Ailish Henderson had her hand stitched collage ‘Pistachio Smiles’ translated into a silk scarf. Here is her interesting story behind her work.

“This piece of the artist’s work, quietly questions the impact events experienced have on our ongoing narrative line. Strong memories built in childhood may only come to light decades later, where they can take on new meaning and finally be understood. Due to the artists localised interest in the portrayal of mending, in this portrait there is an underlying vie for, specifically repair within the humanistic emotional context. When married together, this is transposed via the techniques and materials employed. Irish linen as a ‘canvas’ and foundation to work upon, has been sourced and used to give a nod to her heritage, whilst etching techniques and watercolours mixed with the tactile are reminiscent of her lost grandmothers links with the Fine Arts. Using familial ideography juxtaposed with these and other treasured materials; a cross-discipline approach is employed. The artist here vocalises her most personal question to date, how to ‘mend the maker’. It is her belief that across creative disciplines, there can be a form of restoration for the author of works, brought about via the act of making, not the outcome itself.”

 

Photography by Sean Elliot http://seanelliottphotography.co.uk

See more of Ailish’s work at http://www.ailishhenderson.com

 

May 13, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

Student Showcase – MFA Textiles Program at Parsons

 

I talk a lot about the diversity of textiles as a genre and it’s no where more apparent than students work at university. The creativity that comes out of courses is brilliant so I thought it was time to showcase some students work. These students are studying the two year MFA Textiles program at The New School Parsons in NYC.

All of these students are graduating this week apart from Jongbum Kim who is in his first year. They all have lots of information about their work but instead of me explaining it contact them directly if you want to find out more. I’m sure they would love to hear from you.

 

Artists from top:

Jongbum Kim https://www.instagram.com/jongbum.bongba.kim/

Chuyi Sun https://www.instagram.com/chuyisun24/

Hongci Hu https://www.instagram.com/hongcihu/

Jing Li Bista https://www.instagram.com/jinglibista/

Licca Hsiao https://www.instagram.com/liccatextile/

Liz Sandler https://www.instagram.com/liz.sandler/

 

 

May 4, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

Janine Heschl’s top tips for realism in thread

Janine Heschl’s 3 tips for creating realism with thread

 

Janine Heschl a.k.a Textile Wildlife Art’s portraits of endangered animals are so realistic it’s easy to mistake them for photographs. She kindly shared three tips for improving the realism in your own work. You can read Janine’s full interview here and also do check out her website to see more of her work https://www.textilewildlifeart.com

 

1)Trust your eyes

When zooming into a nose of a tiger, you expect to discover several shades of pinks and rose tones, but you may also find dark lilac or hues of blue or a hint or light green in a reflection. Don’t go by what your brain tells you about tiger noses, but what your eyes pick up and be courageous enough to trust that! Adding that light green thread may be that exact detail it needed to create depth. Which leads me to the next tip:

2) Zoom in

Working from a reference photo will allow you, depending on the resolution, to really zoom into your subject. Take the time to familiarise yourself with the patterns, structures, fur growth directions, colours blending into each other… study your subject in the tiniest detail and then translate it into thread. Add that extra layer of highlights, even if it is just 3 single stitches. Add that turquoise dot in the reflection of the eye. 

It takes practice to pick up the smallest features and characteristics, but it will make all the difference in the end. Which again leads me to the next tip

3) Bring patience and passion to the party

Working on realism is time consuming and sometimes tedious. You can get trapped in details and forget to pay attention to the bigger picture, which eventually will become your masterpiece. So it is important in the beginning to be patient with yourself, to pace yourself and to pick a subject that you are passionate about, to make the joy last for the entire process. Pick an animal you are passionate about, then pick your favorite feature of it – an eye, the nose, fur pattern or feathers, and then focus on that selection. Don’t start a full lion embroidery, but scale down and start teaching your eyes to pick colours from the reference and find that colour in your thread collection. This also makes a fantastic excuse for buying more thread, if you were looking for one. 

By working on something you feel you have a connection with, you will be able to keep yourself motivated and interested, being able to push through more difficult areas and learning as much as possible. It won’t leave you overwhelmed but empowered in the end.

April 23, 2021 In Textile Art

Covid Nomad by Keren Lowell

 

Textile artist Keren Lowell moved from Alaska to Colorado at the beginning of the pandemic. Before she moved she shed most of her personal possessions. Like most of us she had time to reflect, and she listed all of the places she had lived through her life which reached over forty. She then revisited her memories going through letters, maps of her travels,photographs and asking her parents about stories from her childhood and put these into her project.

 

“I can’t travel and move around physically during this time of relative isolation and social distancing, but I have been nomadically traveling through these memories, journals, photographs, maps and stories from my parents and siblings.”

 

Sewn from remnants from a number of sources including her sister’s wedding dress, she also included a large abstract  map of everywhere she had travelled and lived.

 

Covid Nomad was exhibited as part of ‘Fragile Domestic,’ at the Bunnell Street Art Center

and you can find out more about Keren in the interview I did with her a few years ago here

March 4, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

Calling all Tapestry Weavers

Heallreaf Post competitions    

Tapestries Year One and Urban Scenes – High Rise by Matty Smith 

 

“Putting tapestry on the walls of ordinary homes, not just stately homes.”

 

Heallreaf Post is a lovely exhibition held in Chichester, UK that exhibits postcard sized tapestries for sale. It is open to all tapestry artists and is free to enter but all pieces must be available to purchase. The criteria is as follows:

Art work must be weft faced or predominantly weft faced,

Landcape orientation

12.7 x 17.8 cms

The deadline for submissions is June 1st 2021. For more details and information on how to submit your work visit http://www.heallreaf.com/post

 

 

October 29, 2020 In Art, Textile Art

Matthew Larson’s exhibition

   

 

Textile Art comes in many different forms and American artist Matthew Larson uses a technique we haven’t seen before on Textile Curator.

Although his beautifully details pieces look woven they are in fact created by aligning strands of yarn onto velcro. This painstaking process results in an optical illusion effect as the fibres of the acrylic yarns reflect the light differently making some of the colours visually recede or protrude. You can see more of Matt’s work at the Rule Gallery in Denver until November 7th.

 

https://rulegallery.com

https://www.matthew-larson.com

October 16, 2020 In Textile Art

Brita Been’s latest exhibition

 

       

 

Norwegian tapestry artist Brita Been is one of the most popular artist’s I’ve featured on the website so I thought you’d like to have a look at her new exhibition at the Risør Kunstpark gallery. Click on each image to see a larger version. If you are unfamiliar with Brita’s work check out her profile here https://www.textilecurator.com/home-default/home-2-2/britabeen/  or visit http://www.britabeen.no

 

August 21, 2020 In Art, Textile Art

Woven Stories

The collection of fabrics so far for Woven Stories.

 

Australian textile artist Angela McIntosh is now based in Canada, and like many artists she wasn’t able to access her studio during the lock down. Wanting to do something positive during the pandemic she developed a collective project called Woven Stories. “In essence I am asking people to reconnect with memories that are held within the comfort of cloth and then I am bringing together and celebrating these memories and connections with other contributors,” she explains. 

To take part you need to submit a photo and short narrative of why the fabric is important to you. To date the project comprises of a wide range of fabrics from all over the world including a wedding dress, an Afghan thrown and a vintage quilt. Once the digital project has closed, Angela will transform the images into a physical artwork, with the aim of exhibiting the digital contributions in tandem with the physical translation. The website will remain as a record and repository for people to visit. To find out more, or to read the fascinating memories behind the fabrics that are already included visit https://angela-mcintosh.ca/works/woven-stories

 

 

 

August 14, 2020 In Art, Textile Art

An interview with Surface Design Association

 

    

 

Above: Surface Design Association logo and SDA member Holly Wong, Bia II, 2020

 

Being a Textile / Fiber Artist isn’t always easy. You often have to battle the misconception that Textile Art isn’t Fine Art, and especially after Covid there aren’t always a huge amount of spaces to exhibit. That is why I’m always keen to feature organisations that help textile artists. One particular organisation I discovered is the SDA or the Surface Design Association. Although it is based in the United States it is open to all textile artists and I recently interviewed the Executive Director, Karena Bennet to find out more. 

 

What is the SDA?

SDA is an international organisation founded in 1977 to promote textile art through publications, exhibitions, workshops, and conferences. The SDA community is truly expansive. We have thousands of members from 40 countries around the world. Our goal is to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas, opportunities for learning and collaboration, and to encourage critical dialogue. At the heart of SDA is our quarterly publication, Surface Design Journal, which is international in scope and brings an array of concepts, processes, and materials to readers.

 

What are the advantages for textile / fiber artists that join? 

Membership includes a range of benefits and we’re always finding new ways to strengthen these offerings. We work really hard to support our members by: 

  • Providing opportunities for learning and meaningful collaboration
  • Mentoring emerging and established artists
  • Informing members about the latest developments in the field of fiber arts
  • Recognising the accomplishments of members
  • Encouraging critical dialogue about fiber art
  • Inspiring new directions in fiber and textiles
  • Raising the visibility of fibers and textile media in the contemporary art world.

 

Do you cover all genres of fiber / textile art? 

Yes! SDA’s goal is to showcases the breadth and depth of contemporary artists and designers working with or inspired by fiber art and/or textile-based materials, methods, and techniques. Many of our members and contributors work in 2D and 3D, but we’re also interested in time-based media, performance, or conceptual work. 

 

Who can apply? Do they have to live in North America?

We welcome members from all over the world. Currently, we have members in 40 countries. All of our member benefits are open to international members including grants and awards. We’ve also designed certain opportunities to eliminate barriers to participation for members outside of the U.S. For example, our International Exhibition in Print is the focus of one Journal each year. It’s a wonderful opportunity for artists to showcase their work without incurring massive shipping expenses or limiting who can see it. The Journal almost always has some international articles. In December, with the support of Creative New Zealand, we’ll be publishing a Journal that is fully focused on New Zealand and will highlight SDA members there as well as other exciting artists, scholars and organisations working in fiber. 

 

What is a premium member? 

Our Premium Membership is designed to give artists opportunities for more exposure. At the premium level, folks are able to upload 10 images to our Member Directory (as opposed to 3 for other member levels). All premium member work also appears in our Premium Gallery, which is a fun way to explore the work SDA artists. We draw from our premium membership for our Online Exhibitions and Member Spotlights that appear on our blog and social media. 

 

Is there anything you would like to add?

While we are a membership-based organisation, we think the wider SDA community in much broader terms. There are great opportunities and a lot to explore for non-members as well. We’re always looking for opportunities for partnerships, collaboration, and to connect with new artists. We are really a community that embraces a diversity of ideas, techniques and media!

 

www.surfacedesign.org  

July 26, 2020 In Art, Textile Art

What is yarn bombing?

Lace Covered Kangaroos by Annette Fitton at the Trivento International Yarn Bombing Event 2019

 

We’ve all heard of Yarn Bombing but I was curious about what exactly it is and how you go about it. Australian artist Annette Fitton has taken part in Yarn Bombing events all over the world and kindly answered my questions. 

 

1. What exactly is yarn bombing?

 Yarn bombing is a street art, a form of graffiti using textiles instead of paint. Yarn bombers might add tags, put up murals, leave messages or cover parts of or whole inanimate objects. It has other names too, Guerilla Knitting and Yarn Storming for example. Any technique using yarn to add colour and life to an object is recognised as yarn bombing.

 

2. Some of your events seem organised, do you ever do random yarn bombing?
Lately all the projects I have been involved with have taken months to produce and assemble, an international event, some commissions and an art trail. The last yarn bombing project I knitted independently took quite a lot of time and organising too. I sought permission from the owner of the land where the trees I planned to cover grew. I wanted to be sure the land owner knew I would remove the knitting after a month. I haven’t done any totally random yarn bombing.

 

3. If it’s not organised is it seen as wool graffiti and can you get into trouble? 
As far as I have seen, Melbourne is very accommodating when it comes to accepting wool graffiti however it is considered polite to ask for permission before graffiti is put on private property and to remove it in good time.

 

4. Yarn bombing a tree looks complicated. How do you go about that? 
A detailed list of measurements needs to be made before yarn bombing a particular tree. If the tree cosy fits well with stripes or patterns lining up and all joints between branches and main trunk covered it will look its best. If you have a strip you would like to put on a tree and you find a branch or stem the same size or smaller then your strip that would work too.

 

5. How long does it stay up for?
Six weeks is probably the optimal length of time a yarn bombing can be left in place. Depending on the location, time of the year and exposure to the elements yarn bombing can stay up, relatively clean and neat looking, for as many as two or three months. For the sake of their health yarn bombed trees should be uncovered after six to eight weeks at the most.

 

6. Do people have yarn bombing clubs? If so how would you recommend you start one?

Search social media and you will find yarn bombing groups, large and small, public and private. If you would like to start one of your own you could ask your knit and crochet loving friends to join you, put together a group on Facebook or meet up. Find a spot in your area that could do with some colourful decoration. Think up and plan the size and time frame of your project, what you will cover, how much of it, the colours and patterns you will use and when and how you will install it. Start small, document your progress and share your results if you like. #yarnbombing

 

July 25 2020