Maura Ambrose Makes Me Want to Quilt…

Tags

Arts and Crafts, Bedding, Crafts, Fiber art, Folk Fibers, Foraging, Homewares, Maura Grace Ambrose, Natural fiber, Natural Fibers, Quilt, Quilting, Shopping, Terrain, Texas

Miter Stripes Quilt by Maura Ambrose at Folk Fibers
One of a kind Terrain exclusive
(Image from Terrain)

Maura Grace Ambrose of Folk Fibers has a goal: to share the craft and folklore around natural dyes and quilting.

Before you imagine a hippie, hemp wearing, flower child – take the time to check out some of her beautiful and amazing quilts. They are gorgeous. Maura uses natural dyes for some of her fabrics and patchworks them with others – both vintage and new. She is committed to using 100% natural fibres because she believes they feel better (totally agree) and she favours solid colours.

I think her work is stunning…

Colorado Quilt by Folk Fibers
Vintage wool, linen, and cotton fabrics arranged in a strip quilt format.
(Image from Folk Fibers)

Denim Strip Quilt by Folk Fibers
(Image from Folk Fibers)

Miter Strip Quilt by Folk Fibers
(Image from Folk Fibers)

California Quilt by Folk Fibers
New and vintage cottons come together in a bold strip quilt style. The bright modern color palette is softened with subtle accent strips, a select few are naturally dyed with onion skins.
(Image from Folk Fibers)

Flying Geese Quilt by Folk Fibers
(Image from Folk Fibers)

Cross Quilt by Folk Fibers
(Image from Folk Fibers)

All Maura’s quilts are hand-quilted in Texas. They arrive packed in a handmade, screen printed cedar box.

If you’d like to learn more about the fab’ work of Maura at Folk Fibers, check out her website here. As you might expect, her quilts are not cheap, but what an heirloom…!

Kerry Larkin of Comma Workshop Has Style…

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Arts, Arts and Crafts, Bedding, Comma, Comma Workshop, Fiber art, Gifts, Homewares, Kerry Larkin, Matthew McConaughey, Poet, Poetry, Quilt, Quilting, Sewing, Shopping, Text, Typography, Writing

‘A Perfect Moon’ Quilt by Comma Workshop
The first quilt in the Comma Workshop new series features original writings by Kerry Larkin. The entire collection launches in Fall 2012.
(Image © Comma Workshop)

Two years ago, Kerry Larkin founded Comma Workshop in Colorado and began producing quilts that are sewn together with language. “The signature thing is that it’s my handwriting, and so no two letters are going to look alike,” she said.

Comma Workshop is dedicated to bringing a fresh perspective to the time-honored traditions of quilting and storytelling. Crafting original poems and stories about life and adventure, Kelly and her artisans thoughtfully sew these stories into every quilt.

Their goal is to create timeless, sophisticated quilts, with a hint of playfulness that are functional heirlooms for your home.

Each quilt has an original story or poem quilted directly into it, in both white thread and a contrasting color thread.  In this way, the 800+ words are a functional part of the quilt holding three layers of fabric together.  They machine quilt – by hand – so the ‘comma cursive’ is original and free-handed, making no two quilts exactly alike.

I think they are enchanting…

‘Joy’ Quilt by Comma Workshop
‘Joy’ is Kerry’s favorite quilt in the Limited Edition Collection and currently on her own bed! The phrase “and be not afraid to dance like the white-skirted girl with the suntanned face, for joy is surely the greater of our gifts.” is quilted in Verdana font across the front.
(Image © Comma Workshop)

Life is a series of commas, not periods.* (Matthew McConaughey)

*That’s a full stop to those of us who reside outside North America!

‘Still’ Quilt by Comma Workshop
“Rust Becomes Earth Becomes Me” written specifically for this collection by award-winning creative writer Jody Jenkins. It is quilted in its entirety in ash colored thread in the background of the quilt. “Still” is quilted in Times New Roman font at the lower right hand corner of this quilt.
(Image © Comma Workshop)

‘Nestled Newness’ Quilt by Comma Workshop
Snuggle your wee one in sweet words! Writings of seasons changing and new love create the background of this series of quilts.
“Hibernation wakes orange lights and sweet love… like spring wrapped in newness…” The Nestled Newness baby quilt uses a combination of the signature Comma handwriting and the Times New Roman typeface.
(Image © Comma Workshop)

‘Sweet Love’ Quilt by Comma Workshop
More writings of seasons changing and new love.
“a sweet love and quiet calm.” “Hibernation wakes orange lights and sweet love… like spring wrapped in newness…”
(Image © Comma Workshop)

Even though it’s too late to order in time for Christmas, if you’d like to see more of the Comma Workshop Quilts, there are more quilt designs to see here.

 

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.

Tracy Potts is One Exotic Bird…

Tags

Anita Traverso Gallery, Art, Australia, Fiber art, Fine art, Melbourne, Mixed media, Tracy Potts, Visual Arts

‘I am Your Exotic Bird’ by Tracy Potts
mixed media on canvas, 147 x 128cm
(Image from Anita Traverso Gallery)

How’s this for a great example of why I blog. The very talented Tracy Potts introduced herself via the blog last week. She’s currently having an exhibition at the Anita Traverso Gallery in Melbourne, and given she’s a regular reader of my strange wee collection of sometimes creative, sometimes dog-inspired, often times design-oriented, occasionally foodie posts here at TSL, she thought I may be interested. Boy, was I ever!

‘I Want to be Your Everything’ by Tracy Potts
mixed media on canvas, 94 x 64cm
(Image from Anita Traverso Gallery)

‘600,000,000 Million Moments of Your Life That Have Simply Disappeared’ by Tracy Potts
mixed media on canvas, 94 x 64cm
(Image from Anita Traverso Gallery)

‘Something Told Me it Was Over’ by Tracy Potts
mixed media on canvas, 94 x 64cm
(Image from Anita Traverso Gallery)

‘The Soft Wall’ by Tracy Potts
mixed media on canvas, 94 x 64cm
(Image from Anita Traverso Gallery)

Tracy graduated from the University of South Australia with a Fine Arts degree majoring in printmaking. Now based in Melbourne, her mixed media work is represented in private collections both in Australia and Europe. Regular readers will know I have a massive soft spot for great fibre art, and I think Tracy’s work looks just fantastic. I just wish I was going to be in Melbourne to see the exhibition in person.

If you’d like to read a little more about Tracy’s work, Dylan Rainforth from Art Guide has written about her influences. Otherwise, if you’re in Melbourne, you could head down to the Anita Traverso Gallery at 7 Albert Street, Richmond before the 24th November, and be sure to let me know how fab’ the show is…

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…?

 

Kathryn Clark – Urban Planner Turned Fibre Artist

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Art, Art and Craft, Artist, craft, Fiber art, Kathryn Clark, Quilt, Shopping, Textile, United States

Albuquerque Foreclosure Quilt by Kathryn Clarke
35″ x 47″
Linen, wool, yarn and embroidery thread
(Image from Kathryn Clark)

Kathryn Clark has something to say and she has chosen to use fibre art as her medium in this body of work, her ‘Foreclosure Series’.

From 1999 to 2004, Kathryn Clark worked for a private urban planning firm designing New Urbanist neighborhoods throughout the United States. In 2007, as housing foreclosures started to occur with more frequency, she began to question her design work. She wondered if she was adding to this in some way?

It was important for her to present the whole story of people losing their homes in a way that would capture people’s attention and make a memorable statement. Making quilts seemed an ironic solution to her. Quilts act as a functional memory, an historical record of difficult times.  It is during times of hardship that people have traditionally made quilts, often resorting to scraps of cloth when so poor they could not afford to waste a single thread of fabric.

The patterns for the Kathryn’s quilts are based on neighborhood maps. The quilt is pieced together using patterns of neighborhood blocks taken from RealtyTrac maps.  Within these, foreclosed lots are shown as holes in the quilts. The lot locations are completely random and they yield an unexpected beauty when laid out on fabric. These torn holes question the protective nature of a quilt.

I think her quilts are beautiful, and all the more amazing for the message they provide. See what you think.

Riverside Foreclosure Quilt by Kathryn Clark

Riverside Foreclosure Quilt by Kathryn Clark (detail)
34″ x 46″
Tea stained voile, cotton, linen, yarn and embroidery thread

Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt by Kathryn Clark

Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt (Detail)
25″ x 60″
Cotton, linen, recycled denim and embroidery thread

Cape Coral Foreclosure Quilt by Kathryn Clark

Cape Coral Foreclosure Quilt by Kathryn Clark
30″ x 44″
Recycled bleached linen, recycled string and embroidery on voile
(All images from Kathryn Clark)

If you’d like to learn more about Kathryn Clark, or about her Foreclosure series, check out her website here.

Learning to Crochet; a lesson in perseverance

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Art, Arts, Aurélie Mathigot, Calico & Ivy, Colour, community, craft, Crochet, Crochet Class, Crystal Gregory, Design, Emily Barletta, Fiber art, Knitting and Crochet, Margaret Oomen, Nathan Vincent, Olek, Purl Bee, Sophie Digard, Surface Design, Sydney

Crochet has morphed from homespun to hot. (Janet Bennett Kell)

Regular TSL readers will know that I am attempting to learn the craft of crochet. I’m adding it to my growing list of ‘haberdashery classes‘. Last Wednesday, I had my first crochet class. Apparently, anyone can learn to crochet. This is according to my lovely crochet teacher, Jane. I think I may be the exception. I’m not kidding. There are four of us in the class. For the purposes of this post, let’s call my fellow students Lucy, Hermione and Elle*.

Lucy, I already know. She and I went to surface design school together, She is an amazingly talented seamstress, who also knits. I can’t knit. I can’t be taught to knit. This is a fact. I have accepted this failure in myself. Everyone says crochet is easier. I think they are lying. Anyway, back to Lucy… Of course, given her previously listed talents, you know I’m going to tell you that she is a natural. Her crochet sample looked perfect. It was flat and symmetrical. Her tension was consistent.

Then, there is Hermione. Hermione seems just lovely. It may be a front, though – Hermione has ‘taught herself to crochet from You Tube‘. Seriously. I think she’s our girly-swat. There’s one in every class. In addition, she has almost completed the blanket from the Purl Bee that was one of my inspirations for learning to crochet and attending a beginners crochet class. This just blows my mind. Here it is:

The ‘one of my reasons for learning to crochet‘ Granny Stripe Blanket from Purl Bee
(Image sourced from Purl Bee)

I kid you not – Hermione has almost completed this gorgeous blanket.

And, then there’s Elle. Elle, who is a hoot, has decided she has reached an age where she should take up some form of craft. I hope I’m not giving any of her secrets away when I say she bought back her two recent knitted contributions to the school fair. It does mean that she can knit, which is a lot more than I can do. But, Elle gives me some hope…

I know you think I am exaggerating about my incompetence. That’s because you’re all so lovely and generous. I’m not exaggerating. Here is the evidence:

The TSL Crochet Sample
It is supposed to be a neat rectangle. Jane thinks it looks like a fish.
(Image by TSL)

Just in case you’re wondering, class ran for 4 hours. This tiny wee sample is the sum total of my efforts. 

The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it (Molière)

I have determined, thanks to my mate Molière, that I am not (yet) going to let the craft of crochet beat me. I will persevere. I am so in awe of many of the incredible fibre artists out there.  Here are just a few examples of why I will continue to try and learn the, possibly futile, art of crochet:

Little Urchin Covered Sea Stones by Margaret Oomen
(Image sourced from Purl Bee)

I am so enamoured of these beautiful sea stones. I’d like to make a bowl-full.

Crochet Piano by Olek
(Image © Olek)

The amazing Olek and her incredible crochet installations are inspiring.

Foundation 1 by Crystal Gregory
(Image © Crystal Gregory)

I love how Crystal Gregory’s crochet art explores ideas of pattern and gender within domestic spaces.

Radical Linen by Aurélie Mathigot
(Image sourced from Feel the Yarn)

I would like a few pieces of Aurélie Mathigot’s imaginary forest from her Radical Linen installation.

Male Symbol by Nathan Vincent
(Image © Nathan Vincent)

I would love a piece of Nathan Vincent’s work for my wall.

Flesh Spot by Emily Barletta
(Image © Emily Barletta)

I have already blogged about the very talented Emily Barletta here.

Alpaca Brooch by Sophie Digard
(Image sourced from Art at Heart)

And, the delicate works of Sophie Digard here.

If you live in Sydney and you would like to learn how to crochet, Calico & Ivy run classes for the absolute beginner.

I’ll keep you posted!

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent

Sophie Digard & Her Creative Crochet

Tags

Arts, brooch, Colour, craft, Crochet, Fashion, Fiber art, French, Jewellery, Knitting and Crochet, Needlework, Shopping, Sophie Digard, style, Textile

French designer Sophie Digard creates the most exquisitely detailed, hand-crocheted, heirloom-quality pieces – scarves, necklaces, brooches, bags, baby clothes and blankets – that have long been treasured by clients and collectors around the world. Her work is so very beautiful.

Seriously, she crochets like nobody I’ve ever seen before and uses the most labour-intensive techniques to create her intricate pieces from fine wool, mohair, velvet, and linen.

Sophie Digard Merino Baby Blanket
(Available from Calico & Ivy)

Sophie Digard Linen 'edelweiss' Scarf
(Available from Calico & Ivy)

Sophie Digard Wool with Velour 'Bobbles' Scarf
(Available from Calico & Ivy)

Sophie Digard Merino 'Tournesol' Necklace
(Available from Calico & Ivy)

Sophie Digard Linen Scarf
(Available from Selvedge)

Sophie Digard 'Alpaca' Brooch
(Available from Selvedge)

Sophie Digard designs are available from selected retailers.  In Sydney, you can find a few pieces at Calico & Ivy (with shops in Sydney and Perth). The very fabulous Selvedge Dry-goods store sells a good range online.

*It is because of the so very talented Sophie Digard that I have booked myself on a crash course in crochet (in May). I seem to be incapable of learning to knit. I’ll keep you posted on whether crochet is a better bet!

Emily Barletta and Her Red Thread…

Tags

Artist, Colour, Crafts, creativity, culture, Design, Emily Barletta, Exhibition, Fiber art, Fine art, Maryland Institute College of Art, Photos, Stitch, style, Thread

Fresh after her recent exhibition at the group showing, ‘The Sum of the Parts’ at the Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, the very talented Emily Barletta has just added some new works to her portfolio.  I think they are gorgeous in their simplicity, especially when compared to some of her more complex (yet equally fab’) pieces.

Have a look some of the new stitched pieces and see what you think:

Untitled (big circle) by Emily Barletta (2011)
thread and paper

Untitled 2 by Emily Barletta (2011)
thread and paper

Untitled 10 by Emily Barletta (2011)
thread and paper

Apparently, Ms Barletta has loved needlework and crafts since her childhood in Utah.  After graduating from Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art with a bachelor’s degree in fibre arts, she embarked on a path utilising techniques she had previously used in her hobbies and applying them to fine art.

I love the way her work has an organic feel to it, and the way she interprets old home-style crafts into incredible and detailed modern works of fibre art.

I would love the ‘untitled 10′ piece for my wall.

Alternatively, a bowl of these would make me happy:

Untitled (rocks) by Emily Barletta (2010)
thread, felt, and rocks, mixed sizes

Go and check out some of her other work at EmilyBarletta.com.  It’s amazing!

(All images sourced from Emily Barletta’s website)