Louise Saxton Embroiders Birds

Tags

Art, Australian art, Birds, Embroidery, Fine art, Gould Galleries, Haberdashery, Louise Saxton, Melbourne, Mixed media, Native Birds, Natural History, Textile Art

Flaming Flamingo 2011– after John James Audubon, 1838 by Louise Saxton
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle
116 x 98cm
(Image from Gould Galleries)

Flaming Flamingo 2011– after John James Audubon, 1838 (Detail) by Louise Saxton
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle
116 x 98cm
(Image from Gould Galleries)

Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo, flying across in front of a beautiful sunset? And he’s carrying a beautiful rose in his beak, and also he’s carrying a very beautiful painting with his feet. And also, you’re drunk. (Jack Handy)

I can only imagine the hours and painstaking hours of effort that must go into the creation of just one of Louise Saxton’s beautiful works. Look carefully – you will see antique lace, tulle, glass beads and more in these fantastical needleworks. The minutiae of her pieces are what makes them, for me. And, of course, my love of all things ‘haberdashery*’! 

Where does she get her patience?

Queen Billie 2010 – after Sarah Stone, 1790 by Louise Saxton
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle
127 x 95 cm
(Image from Gould Galleries)

Queen Billie 2010 – after Sarah Stone, 1790 (Detail) by Louise Saxton
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle
127 x 95 cm
(Image from Gould Galleries)

I collect, I dissect, reinterpret, and reassemble. (Louise Saxton)

The images in this post are taken from the artist’s recent exhibition, ‘Sanctuary too’, held at Gould Galleries in Melbourne.

For this series, Louise was influenced by natural history artists from the 1600’s to modern-day. She has reinterpreted specific works by developing an outline of an original natural history painting before building up layers, textures and colours of collected materials, and pinning and repining, until she is happy with the result. Just fabulous.

Halcyone & Ceyx 2010 – after Lilian Medland, c.1930 by Louise Saxton
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle
76 x 96cm
(Image from Gould Galleries)

Halcyone & Ceyx 2010 – after Lilian Medland, c.1930 (Detail) by Louise Saxton
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle
76 x 96cm
(Image from Gould Galleries)

Major Tom 2010 – After John & Elizabeth Gould, c.1848 by Louise Saxton
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins and nylon tulle
103 x 49 cm
(Image from Gould Galleries)

Major Tom 2010 – After John & Elizabeth Gould, c.1848 (Detail) by Louise Saxton
Reclaimed needlework, lace pins and nylon tulle
103 x 49 cm
(Image from Gould Galleries)

To learn more about Louise Saxton’s work, or other artists represented at Gould Galleries, check out the website or visit them at 270 Toorak Road, South Yarra, VIC 3141. I have added them to my list for next time I’m visiting Melbourne.

* My brother refers to my love of craft endeavours as ‘haberdashery classes’. I think he just likes the word haberdashery, but Louise Saxton takes ‘haberdashery’ to a whole new level.

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Andrea Dezsö Makes Me REALLY Appreciate My Mum…

Tags

Andrea Dezsö, Embroidery, Fiber art, Humour, Mothers, Sayings, Visual Art, Visual Arts

Skimpy Bikini by Andrea Dezsö
Lessons From My Mother series
cotton and metallic floss embroidery on cotton fabric
(Image © Andrea Dezsö)

It is most unfair that one artist can be so talented across so many disciplines. Andrea Dezsö is a visual artist who works across a broad range of media which includes drawing, artist’s books, cut paper, embroidery, sculpture, site-specific installation, animation and large-scale public art.

I particularly like her ‘Lessons From My Mother’ series where the Transylvanian-born Dezsö has embroidered dozens of her mother’s superstitious sayings. Each of these small pieces includes neatly stitched diagrams and begins with the statement “My mother claimed that…” followed by such homilies as “my sister was a rubber accident.”

I think I should point out that I have only included the PG rated embroidered pieces in the series – there are some that made me gasp. Some of Dezsö’s Mum’s saying are pretty graphic – and certainly made me appreciate my fabulous Mum’s pragmatism and acceptance even more…

What Kind of Man by Andrea Dezsö
Lessons From My Mother series
cotton and metallic floss embroidery on cotton fabric
(Image © Andrea Dezsö)

Herpes by Andrea Dezsö
Lessons From My Mother series
cotton and metallic floss embroidery on cotton fabric
(Image © Andrea Dezsö)

Bread by Andrea Dezsö
Lessons From My Mother series
cotton and metallic floss embroidery on cotton fabric
(Image © Andrea Dezsö)

Rubber Accident by Andrea Dezsö
Lessons From My Mother series
cotton and metallic floss embroidery on cotton fabric
(Image © Andrea Dezsö)

Wet Hair by Andrea Dezsö
Lessons From My Mother series
cotton and metallic floss embroidery on cotton fabric
(Image © Andrea Dezsö)

Smart People by Andrea Dezsö
Lessons From My Mother series
cotton and metallic floss embroidery on cotton fabric
(Image © Andrea Dezsö)

Cat by Andrea Dezsö
Lessons From My Mother series
cotton and metallic floss embroidery on cotton fabric
(Image © Andrea Dezsö)

Dezsö is represented by the Nancy Margolis Gallery in New York, Frey Norris Contemporary & Modern in San Francisco, and Pucker Gallery in Boston. If you’d like to check out the R rated versions of her ‘Lessons From My Mother ‘, or see some of other work, check out her website here.

Lisa Solomon & Her Crayola Braille

Tags

Art, Braille, Color, Crayola, Embroidery, Fiber Artist, Lisa Solomon, United States

Way back in April, I posted about Lisa Solomon & Her Hybrid World. At the time, I was fascinated by Lisa’s Dolly Toxins and Viruses work. That has not changed, but now there is a new collection to have a squizz at…

Crayola Braille Scarlet
embroidery on cotton in wooden hoop, 5.5 x 9 inches
(Image © Lisa Solomon)

Lisa has created a set of 16 Crayola colour names with threads that match their namesakes represented in braille. When she was a child, her mother transcribed braille as a part-time job. Lisa always felt that it was like a secret language and loved looking at the pages of raised dots. She is interested in how we perceive colour and fascinated with the idea of “reading” color without sight, so she decided to create these pieces.

Crayola Braille Fern Green – detail
embroidery on cotton in wooden hoop, 5.5 x 9 inches
(Image © Lisa Solomon)

Crayola Braille Dandelion
embroidery on cotton in wooden hoop, 5.5 x 9 inches
(Image © Lisa Solomon)

Crayola Braille Wild Watermelon – detail
embroidery on cotton in wooden hoop, 5.5 x 9 inches
(Image © Lisa Solomon)

Do you think Lisa Solomon was one of the cool kids at school? If not, she is now… Go check out her website here.

Rachael Howard – Who’s a Clever Girl, Then?

Tags

Appliqué, Clothing, Design, Doodling, Drawing, Embroidery, Fashion, Fiber art, Rachel Howard, Royal College of Art, Screen printing, Sewing, Textile, Textile Art

Doodle Ties from Rachael Howard Ties Collections
(Image from here)

I’ve just discovered Rachael Howard. How cool is she? She has created a tie collection out of doodles she first created and then screen-printed onto fabric. O for Oar-some, I reckon. A creative and commercially savvy woman who makes money out of her doodling. Just brilliant.

Of course, it’s not quite that simple…

Rachael had early success designing tie collections for Paul Smith. Her own tie collections are hand screen-printed, using water-soluble dyes on to natural linen.

Purple Flower Tie from Rachael Howard Flowers Collection
(Image © Rachael Howard)

Noughts and Crosses Tie from Rachael Howard Doodles Collection
(Image © Rachael Howard)

Dog on a Lead Tie from Rachael Howard White Sketch Collection
(Image © Rachael Howard)

She was also one of the Royal College Of Arts first six Embroidery post graduates in 1992. Since then she has become renowned for devising new ways of combining screen-printed drawings with appliquéd fabrics and machine embroidery. Rachael has been involved in a variety of projects, including the prestigious Jerwood Textiles Prize (1997) for which she was short-listed..

She has a fascination with drawing, particularly people , observing their postures, expressions and actions in spontaneous sketches – often humorous studies of human behaviour. These drawings are translated into graphic, screen-printed, appliquéd and machine embroidered narrative images – beautifully crafted and exactingly worked motifs. Howard expresses events through drawing, fabrics and stitch, using image, text and object to tell – often autobiographical – stories of the everyday.

I’d like to learn more about her work BUT the only website I can find is her tie collections here. Rachael Howard, why don’t you have a website detailing more of your fabulous work…?

 

Inge Jacobsen – How Cool is She?

Tags

Art, Arts and Entertainment, Collage, Cross Stitch, Design, Embroidery, Fashion, Inge Jacobsen, Photography

Inge Jacobsen Vogue Cover March 2011
Photographer: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott
(Image © Inge Jacobsen)

So, I was sitting in the dentist’s waiting room this morning, leafing through magazines and I came across the most amazing images of Inge Jacobsen’s work. I came home and immediately googled her – anybody who can marry a traditional craft like embroidery with fashion and photography like she does deserves a google search, I reckon…

I wasn’t disappointed. Danish-Irish artist Inge Jacobsen uses embroidery, cutting, and collaging to create new images out of magazine fashion editorial and newspaper imagery.

Her primary concern as an artist is how one responds to the mass of imagery in the world.  She is particularly interested in exploring the different contexts in which photography can be used, straying away from the conventional perceptions of what photography can and can’t be.  She seeks to create something unique out of the mass-produced.

And you want to know something else? She’s 24 years old.

Inge Jacobsen Vogue Cover April 2011
Photographer: Mario Testino
(Image © Inge Jacobsen)

Inge Jacobsen Sewn Chanel Black Quilted Bag
(Image © Inge Jacobsen)

Inge Jacobsen – Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Helena Christensen in September 1991 issue
Photographer: Peter Lindbergh
(Image © Inge Jacobsen)

Inge Jacobsen for Georg Jensen S/S 2012
(Image © Inge Jacobsen)

If you’d like to see more of Inge Jacobsen’s work, you can check out her website here.

Penguin Threads – Clever Design

Tags

Arts, Book design, Books, Classics, Cover art, Covers, Embroidery, Jillian Tamaki, Literature, Paul Buckley, Penguin Threads, Rachell Sumpter

Penguin Threads Secret Garden Book Jacket Designed by Jillian Tamaki

Penguin Threads Secret Garden Book Front Designed by Jillian Tamaki
(Images from here)

Commissioned by award-winning Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, the Penguin Threads series debuted with cover art by the supremely talented Jillian Tamaki. I was blown away by her exquisitely embroidered classics book-covers and particularly love her Secret Garden cover.

Penguin Threads Black Beauty Book Jacket Designed by Jillian Tamaki

Penguin Threads Emma Book Jacket Designed by Jillian Tamaki
(Images from here)

The series now continues with cover art by Rachell Sumpter – beautiful gift-worthy classics. The covers are sketched out in a traditional illustrative manner and then hand-stitched using a needle and thread. The final covers are sculpt embossed for a tactile, textured and beautiful book design. See what you think…

Penguin Threads The Wind in The Willows Book Jacket Designed by Rachell Sumpter

Penguin Threads The Wind in The Willows Book Cover Designed by Rachell Sumpter

Penguin Threads The Wizard of Oz Book Jacket Designed by Rachell Sumpter

Penguin Threads The Wizard of Oz Book Cover Designed by Rachell Sumpter

Penguin Threads Little Women Book Jacket Designed by Rachell Sumpter

Penguin Threads Little Women Book Cover Designed by Rachell Sumpter
(Images from here)

If you’d like to learn more about the Penguin Threads or the Penguin Classics range, you can check out the website here.

Diem Chau Embroiders Porcelain!

Tags

culture, Design, Diem Chau, Embroidery, Haberdashery, Illustration, porcelain, Seattle, Stitch, Storytelling, Vietnam

Women by Diem Chau
Porcelain cup, silk, thread
(Image © Diem Chau)

Diem Chau does amazing things with embroidery and porcelain. The result is both understated and quite beautiful.

Vietnam-born Chau is now a Seattle-based artist. She uses ordinary found objects as the base for her embroidery. According to Chau, her work creates “delicate vignettes of fleeting memory, gesture and form, resulting in works that combine egalitarian sensibility and minimalist restraint.”

Her work is often about memories, real or imagined, which she uses to tell her story. She often works from photos of distant family members she’s never met, which appear as faint embroidered figures floating on white porcelain dishes. But it’s in the unexpected details of her work that she uses to draw the viewer into her narrative. A red thread emerging from the subjects relates back to the process of storytelling.

Long Braid by Diem Chau
Porcelain plate, silk, thread
(Image © Diem Chau)

Diem Chau Untitled
Porcelain bowl, silk, thread
(Image © Diem Chau)

Untitled by Diem Chau
Porcelain plate, silk, thread
(Image © Diem Chau)

Sisters by Diem Chau
Porcelain bowl, silk, thread
(Image © Diem Chau)

Totally intrigued by how she achieves her porcelain embroidery, I was so pleased to discover that Chau herself has written a couple of posts on her process in her blog, The Pleasure of Tiny Things. 

Jazmin Berakha Embroiders Colour & Pattern

Tags

Argentina, Buenos Aires, Colour, craft, Embroidery, Fibre Art, Jazmin Berakha, Marlene Dietrich, Pattern, South America, Surface Design, Textile Artist

(Images © Jazmin Berakha)

Latins are tenderly enthusiastic. In Brazil they throw flowers at you. In Argentina they throw themselves. (Marlene Dietrich)

Back in April I posted about Emily Barletta and Her Red Thread. Through Emily’s blog I discovered the work of the ever-so-talented Jazmin Berakha.

She is an artist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her embroidery work is stunning (although she works in other mediums, too). The way she marries colour and pattern so seamlessly is just beautiful.

See what you think…

(Images © Jazmin Berakha)

(Images © Jazmin Berakha)

(Images © Jazmin Berakha)

(Images © Jazmin Berakha)

You can see more of the very talented Jazmin Berakha’s work here.

Lauren DiCioccio Makes Money

Tags

Art, craft, culture, Currency, Embroidery, Fibre Art, Lauren DiCioccio, Marilyn Monroe, Money, Stitch, Surface Design

US$100 by Lauren DiCioccio
(Image © Lauren DiCioccio)

US$100 by Lauren DiCioccio (Detail)
(Image © Lauren DiCioccio)

Yesterday, the fab’ blog StitchPunk ran a post on ‘Extraordinary Stitches & Everyday Things’ featuring some of the work by Lauren DiCioccio. I thought it was just beautiful so I went and checked out Lauren’s website. WOW! The woman is prolific in her stitching – and her work is wonderful.

I don’t want to make money, I just want to be wonderful. (Marilyn Monroe)

One of the projects that particularly appealed to me was her currency series. The attention to detail is unbelievable…

US$1 by Lauren DiCioccio (Back)
(Image © Lauren DiCioccio)

1000 Yen by Lauren DiCioccio
(Image © Lauren DiCioccio)

Hong Kong $20 by Lauren DiCioccio
(Image © Lauren DiCioccio)

5000 Colombian Pesos by Lauren DiCioccio
(Image © Lauren DiCioccio)

Lauren says her “work investigates the physical/tangible beauty of commonplace mass-produced media-objects (that) are becoming obsolete, replaced by the invisible efficiency of various technologies. In some cases, this transition is a good thing-faster transmission and distribution of information, streamlined systems, openness to user input, less waste. But a hole is left behind by the disappearance of these everyday objects. What will happen when we no longer touch information?”

If you have five minutes to spare today, go and have a look at some of Lauren DiCioccio’s wonderful fibre art here. It is stunning. Truly.

The Amazing Hand-Embroidered World of Paschbeck Fummel+Kram

Tags

Accessories, Caro & Co Concept Store, Clothing, Colour, craft, Design, Embroidery, Paschbeck Fummel + Kram, Scarf, Scarves, Shopping, Silk, Surface Design

If you had not already worked it out after reading a few of my posts (here and here), I love scarves. Maybe it’s because I really love colour but tend to wear a lot of monochromatic clothes? I don’t know. What I do know is that accessories are my friend.

I have just discovered the fabulously funky world of Paschbeck Fummel+Kram. Perhaps I have had my head in the sand and the rest of the world has already discovered the hand-stitched and appliquéd doodle-like designs that oh-so colourfully adorn scarves and bags and shirts and more; or perhaps I can introduce you to the super-stylish Paschbeck Fummel+Kram for the first time…?

Let’s begin with a couple of their wonderfully generous scarves. These are core pieces for the label and are made of quality cotton or silk, hand-woven and hand dyed. The colourful embroideries are elaborately manufactured by hand. “The production of a single piece takes about 6 weeks”, according to Angelika Paschbeck.

Paschbeck Fummel+Kram’s Scarf ‘My Dog’ in Petrol
Hand embroidered cotton scarf with silk appliques and lots of wee tassels
120cm x 120cm
(Image sourced from Fummel und Kram)

Paschbeck Fummel+Kram’s Scarf ‘City Map Hong kong’
Screenprinted scarf topped with hand embroidery
110cm x 110cm, hand wash
(Image sourced from Fummel und Kram)

And then there are the hand embroidered clothes. Yes, I said hand-embroidered!:

Paschbeck Fummel+Kram’s Simple Top in Grey
Light summer top with hand embroidery and lace appliques on both sides
30% silk, 70% cotton
(Image sourced from Fummel und Kram)

Paschbeck Fummel+Kram’s T-Shirt ‘Rich Summer’
Front and back are hand embroidered. Each t-shirt is unique.
100% cotton
(Image sourced from Fummel und Kram)

Paschbeck Fummel+Kram’s Knit Cap in Dark Grey
100% alpaca, hand-knitted in Peru with and finished with hand embroidered silk
(Image sourced from Fummel und Kram)

I’m seriously lusting after one of these beaded bags. (sigh)

Paschbeck Fummel+Kram’s Glitter Bag
Canvas covered in hundreds of beads, sequins and silk embroidery
24cm x 22cm
(Image sourced from Fummel und Kram)

And, if – like me – your budget doesn’t quite reach to one of the hand-crafted items shown, every time you purchase one of these notebooks, you sponsor a street child in India for a month. I think they’re just beautiful.

Paschbeck Fummel+Kram Notebook in Pink
Also available in purple, orange and grey
Hand-crafted notebook with 2 different papers. Both the cover and the back are hand embroidered.
(Image sourced from Fummel und Kram)

Angelika Paschbeck is the founder, owner and head of design at Paschbeck Fummel+Kram. She founded the label back in 2003 (where was I?). At the beginning, the label consisted of only a small line of hand-made pieces. Today there is a full-scale collection made up of selected vibrant scarves, bags, womenswear – all full of humorous designs, embroidered (and sometimes dyed) and made from high quality natural fabrics and inspired by influences such as childhood memories and current affairs.

You can purchase items from the Paschbeck Fummel+Kram range online here. I’m starting to save my pennies now…

In Sydney, there is a small selection of Paschbeck Fummel+Kram available at Caro & Co Concept Store in Westfield Mall, Pitt Street.