These are just a couple of quick sketches I roughed up as I worked through an idea for a new art project. They’re drawn on paper with cotton thread and black ink.
You can find more of my unicorn studies on my other website: www.unicorn-porn.com
Tags: Art, Drawing, Fine Art, Paper
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I stumbled across this publication entitled The Hobby Horse which was published by the Century Guild of Artists between 1884 and 1894. I haven’t come across it before but apparently it’s credited with being the first high quality magazine committed soley to the visual arts. Some view it as being the most iconic mouthpiece of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Contributors to The Hobby Horse included Edward Burne Jones, Ford Madox Brown, John Ruskin and Oscar Wilde; many of whom had no practical experience of the arts and crafts. Compiled from the perspective of the members of the Century Guild of Artists the magazine was packed with scholarly essays, paintings and woodcuts. Unlike other periodicals borne out of the 19 century such as The Yellow Book the Hobby Horse did not preach an aesthetic elitism.
The aesthetic values and tone of the magazine stand somewhere between the Utopian idealism of Morris and Ruskin and the specialized art for art’s sake coterie world of The Yellow Book and Savoy.
- (Codell J.F. “The Century Guild Hobby Horse“, Victorian Periodicals Review, Vol. 16, No. 2 1983 pp. 43-53)
I do love the woodcut printed cover (pictured above). With my growing interest in the Art and Crafts debate I’d be keen to find a couple of copies of this publication to peruse but I’ve a feeling that might be easier said than done. A trip to the British Library might be in order.
If you’re interested in finding out more about this publication and its historical significance you might find Matthew Tildesley’s thesis The Century Guild Hobby Horse & Oscar Wilde: A Study of British Little Magazines of interest.
Tags: Art, Craft, Print, Research
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This performative textile art installation in New York’s Grand central train station looks absolutely magical. I’ve come across Nick’s work before and it never fails to inspire.
For HEARD•NY, artist Nick Cave will transform Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall with a herd of thirty colorful life-size horses that will peacefully “graze” and periodically break into choreographed movement—or “crossings”— accompanied by live music. The project, which is open to the public free of charge, is presented by Creative Time and MTA Arts for Transit as part of a series of events celebrating the centennial of Grand Central.
*Source: Creative Time
I’ve been toying with the idea of developing a public art performative piece of the back of the research I’ve been undertaking into the symbolism of the unicorn for the last twelve months or so. The time restricted elements to this performance are interesting to me in this context as as is the combination of free and choreographed movement.
I do love the work that has been put into creating each of the horses in this work. They’re not mass produced but extravagant individual objects/costumes that would stand up as a work of art in their own right regardless of the performance.
This performance is not something I’ll be able to experience for myself any time soon but you can access more images and videos of Nick’s work through his website www.nickcaveart.com
Tags: Art, Artists, Inspiration, Textiles
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Per Fahger’s choice of retro computer games as inspiration for his needlecraft is a perfect match. The pixelated imagery of these long fogotten computer games of the 80s and 90s maps easily onto the grip based systems that are used to create needlecraft patterns.
Per´s choice of material, technique and color gives us a perfect example of how traditional crafts can receive a new expression and context in the modern world.
The use of these age old methods of making to replicate these previously digitally rendered images is interesting. It draws our attention to the fact that despite our technologies having advanced, the imagery we produce is still very much of the same ilk. It’s only the methods of production that have changed significantly.
Maps pictured in the recreation of old Super Mario Brothers games resemble medieval documents rather than the ordnance survey maps we’re familiar with today. Meanwhile the colours of works such as Kirby’s Adventure remind me somewhat of paintings by the pre-Raphaelites and Seiken Densetsu III looks like it could be the work of a Romanticist.
Whilst the Romantic artists of the eighteenth century looked back to medieval times for inspiration Per Fahger is looking back to the eighties and ninties with a nostalgic eye.
For today’s 30- and 40-somethings, digital environments are as meaningful as concrete ones. Perhaps more. Thus, the urgency of preserving them, as textile artifacts, becomes perfectly comprehensible. – Matteo Bittanti
You can view more of Per’s work on the Stene Projects website.
Tags: Art, Craft, Stitch, Textiles
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These embroidered drawing by Rosanna Wells are wonderfully delicate. These images are taken from a series entitled ‘Interpersonal Spacial Arrangements‘.
Each image has been created from an aerial view of a significant gathering/event. The main image above for example was created in response to an election protest, in Bolotnaya Square, Moscow 2011. Each stitch is representative of an individual persons present at this event. All the environmental surroundings, such as buildings, trees etc, are stripped out from the image.
The resulting images emphasise the voids remaining where buildings, railings or other such structures would appear and provide an interesting look at the way in which people organise themselves in a crowd. Presented in this way the works appear as an fascinating observation of humans tendency towards swarm behaviour
Roasanna has been selected for the Jerwood Makers Open 2013 and will be exhibiting at the Jerwood Space in London from the 10 July – 25 August.
You can view more of Rosanna’s exquisite stitched art work on her website: www.roannawells.co.uk
Tags: Art, Artists, Inspiration, Textiles
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These knitted forms of funghi by Leigh Martin are rather beautiful. She is pursuing a project entitled ’52 Forms of Funghi’ throughout 2013 whilst challenging herself to knit new structures based upon the organisms that can be found all around us.
The main image above is take from Leigh’s previous ‘Decomposition’ series of land art installations. These works seek to explore the cycles of the natural world.
It’s interesting to have stumbled across these works having seen the recent trend for yarn bombing in the cities. Unlike yarn bomb installations that I’ve come across these works are sympathetic to their environment mimicking forms that already exist. It’s only really on closer inspection that we can identify these works as fibre art installations and not funghi.
Yarn bombers tend to approach their work from a different angle to this, bringing colour and a playful vigour to what many might consider to be dull grey urban environments. You can find out more about yarn bombing on the Knit The City website.
I’ll be interested to see how the ’52 Forms of Funghi’ project develops. You can view more of Leigh’s work on her website at www.cargocollective.com/bromeleighad
Tags: Art, Craft, Installation, Textiles
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A Walk in the Secret Garden are a pair of machine and hand embroidered shoes created by textile artist Nell Burns of Nell’s Embroidery.
These shoes, inspired by the book ‘The Secret Garden’ really are exquisite. They have been created through a process of freestyle machine embroidery and hand embellishment. You can see some of the detailing on Nell’s Flickr photo stream here. The surface of the shoes have been painted with thread incorporating grasses, flowers, and little squirrel amongst other things in the detailing.
I was particularly delighted to stumble across this work inspired by the children’s book as I have recently been working on an embroidery inspired by the Russian folk tale ‘Baba Yaga’ which I hope to be able to unveil next week. It’s nice to see that other stitch artists are finding inspiration in old literature too.
You can view more of Nell’s work on her website – www.nellsembroidery.com
Tags: Art, Craft, Stitch, Textiles
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This star sailor sampler is a a little test piece that I worked on with fairy tale illustrator Layla Holzer with a view to undertaking some collaborative work. The piece is inspired by a fairy tale that Layla wrote.
Layla has painted the scene out in gouache on linen. I’ve then embellished the painting with embroidered elements such as the moon and stars as well as the text.
Although it needs a little refinement I think we’re both happy with the outcome of this test piece.
Tags: Art, Collaboration, illustration, Stitch
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I’ve just finished this red unicorn embroidery. It’s been a good couple of months in the making due to some other projects I’ve had going on that have had more pressing deadlines. It’s good to have finally finished it.
It’s the first in a series of embroideries and is titled Synchronous Red Hermaphrodites 817. It’s been created using a split stitch with cotton thread on linen.
I’ll pop a full set of images up in my online gallery once it’s pressed and framed so keep your eyes peeled for those.
Tags: Art, Craft, Stitch, Work in Progress
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Dates: 27 February – 9 March 2013
Location: Milkwood Gallery, Cardiff
Late night opening: Saturday 2 March 2013: join us for an evening of enchanting fairy tales, puppet shows and performances.
“Every fairy tale had a bloody lining. Every one had teeth and claws.” – Alice Hoffman
Once upon Again will be an exhibition of fairy tale inspired work. The title suggests the idea of re-imagined narratives – taking existing fairy and folk tales and retelling them. This follows the tradition of stories being passed from generation to generation over centuries, through cultures and societies, books, art and film. These stories were once rife with violence, disobedience and punishment, dark magic, sex, cannibalism, beasts and fantastical wishes that came true.
The likes of the Brothers Grimm rewrote such narratives to make them palatable for children. They added cautionary and moral awakenings to ensure good judgement, wisdom and common sense was instilled in their audiences. However, the traditional motifs remaining in today’s fairy tales are diluted – happily-ever-after now litters the endings of stories and any trace of real darkness has been stripped away.
“Fairy tales serve a meaningful social function, not just for compensation but for revelation: the worlds projected by the best of our fairy tales reveal the gaps between truth and falsehood in our immediate society.” – Jack Zipes
The Pack of Wolves will retell fairy tales, as they should be – as they once were, bringing back old values and themes… Once Upon Again. The artists will take inspiration from existing fairy and folk stories and either reinvent them or present new stories using visual narratives. Fairy tales should not only enchant and entertain the audience but also illuminate and inform.
“The enchantments universalize the narrative setting, encipher concerns, beliefs and desires in brilliant, seductive images that are themselves a form of camouflage, making it possible to utter harsh truths, to say what you dare.” – Marina Warner
On the evening of Saturday the 2 March 2013 you are invited to join us at Milkwood Gallery to view a series of short puppet shows performed by members of the Pack of Wolves. This will include a traditional Punch and Judy show and a Jabberwocky shadow play.
What’s more the evening will present an opportunity to meet many of the artists involved with Pack of Wolves. We do hope you’ll be able to the Once Upon Again exhibition celebration.
Tags: Art, Cardiff, Exhibition, illustration, Pack of Wolves
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