Approaches to surface

While at the Whitworth Gallery this weekend I picked up this postcard as it echoed the work of Arthur Doves Goin' Fishin' 1925 as cited in my previous Approaches to surface post. The use of blue and the folded cloth for me mirrored aspects of Gone fishing. It is a "Sublimation print on reclaimed garment using archival plant material from the National History museum". Named "Found by the sea, almost a salt marsh" by Shelley Goldsmith. Goldsmiths' work was present at the Cloth and Culture Now exhibition but this installation did not appear as it was from an exhibition called "Indelible, Every contact leaves a trace". I am attracted to the idea of finding a piece of Material in a random place, by accident, with no idea of it's past history, who it belonged to, why it was left and bringing new life to it, recycling it and making it belong again. I shall keep my eyes peeled.......

Cloth and Culture

This weekend i visited the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester to view the Cloth and Culture Now Exhibition. I wished to research for my Approaches to Surfaces brief and discover more Textile Artists. I enjoyed the Gallery, not only the installations but the quiet studious ambiance as one leaves the busy Oxford Road and steps into calm. As I sit here now the works that spring to mind are quite varied. I like the simplistic pure design of Mare Kelpmans' Estonian National Embroidery 9th and 10th (above). This is Lasercut polyamid and is for me reminiscent of hand cut snowflakes made as a child. I find the installation beautifully magical and respect the Artist for not making the work overly complicated. Kelpman works in Estonian national patterns but uses new technology. This fusion of the old and the new keeps the work modern and cutting edge with a nod to her Estonian roots.

Another Textile artist i admired was Auste Jurgelionyte, she is a felt-maker and animator from Lithuania. I love the idea of those two mediums working together, which inspires me and opens my eyes to the scope available within the Textile Arts. This work appeals to me, as from a distance it looks as if it could have been created with Oil Pastels or Wax Crayons. Then once near you see the texture and coalition of the fibres bringing an organic and fluid feel. Felting is something i have never experienced and i am becoming increasingly fascinated by it. So much so i have searched out a tutor and hopefully shall begin learning the traditional skill in the new year.

Lemon Jelly and the Big Chill

I first decided to go back to college in 2004 while at the Big Chill Festival
i was looking for somewhere different to go as i had been to all the main popular British music festivals, Glastonbury, Reading et al and fancied a change. So i dropped my children off at my parents, volunteered for the weekend and went after hooking up a lift with someone off the festival website. I had never been to a festival on my own before and i enjoyed every minute of it. We were all in the same position and i made some lifelong friends. It was the turning point that reminded me of who i was pre children. I met lots of Mixed Media and Illustration students and the more i spoke to them i realised i could still continue my dreams of being in the creative industries. I sat in the marquee looking at projected visuals asking questions about how on earth i could learn to do something as wonderful as that. When i got home i started an evening class in life drawing and applied to study a foundation in Art and Design.
The visuals that inspired and excited me the most were that of the band Lemon Jelly. Their website has changed quite a lot these days but i still love the vibe of it, their music and especially their moving screen savers which are a vital part of my computers at home. When they click on i can remember the excitement i first felt and enthusiasm to change my life. The wheels move in the one below to the fantastic music of Lemon Jelly who are a must to see live (especially when they play my favourite song The Staunton Lick!).










If you click on the link to the Jelly website and search through the downloads you can find some more current designs using light and photomontage, such as the ones below. The second and third below i have included as i could have learnt from these in my Flora and Fauna brief, they have captured psychadelia with a modern twist that excites and explodes onto the page. The current designs for me embrace the heady evenings of a music festival and the drug culture, the lit up skies and the dancing crowds, the constant movement and noise. I am currently researching to find the designers of the images i have posted so i can find out about their roots and what motivates them and post some more information on this blog.

Approaches to surface

A new brief for me to begin where we shall be investigating textures and contrasts 3 and 2d structures and have freedom to experiment with found objects. After receiving this brief i immediately thought of a collage on wood i had seen when visiting the Royal Academy of Arts in 1993. The exhibition was called American Art in the 20th Century (Painting and Sculpture) and the work i refer to is Arthur Doves Goin' Fishin' 1925 (as seen above). It is an Assemblage of bamboo, denim shirt sleeves, buttons, wood and oil on wood and constructed while Arthur Dove was on his boat. As it was created in in the 1920's it shows an awareness of the Dadaist collages being made in Europe. I love the simplicity of this piece, the textures and the shades of blue against the linear regimental bamboo. The blue paint as it hits the fabric reminiscent of the sky against a gently flowing lake. I find it calming, peaceful and inspiring as to what can be achieved with materials in your living space.