A Life in Colour

I recently went to a fabulous exhibition at the Fashion and Textile museum. I was lured in by the beautiful colours used to advertise the displays. The exhibition celebrates Kaffe Fassett's career in textiles, which has spanned an incredible 50 years. 

There are examples of his influence in quilting, knitting, needlepoint and mosaic and all of these categories are linked together via Kaffe's extraordinary use of colour.

'Textiles with their rich depths of colour, gave me a motivation far beyond my painting.'

'Quilts would give me a grand sense of scale to dramatise my use of colour, which my knitted garments could only hint at'

There was also this fabulous wall which you could touch! Well I had my hands all over these wonderful fabric swatches. The colours and patterns were fascinating. I thought the exhibition was really well put together.

This morning I plan to take my horse for a ride through the fields and this afternoon I am going to do some baking with my mum. Only one more sleep to go until I can eat chocolate!

XO

Social Fabric

I stopped by in London yesterday on my way home for Easter break. I went to the British Museum as I was keen to see the African Textiles. There is currently a free exhibition displaying printed cloth (Kanga). In Africa men sometimes dress in the same pattern of cloth as women to show unity and friendship. I think this is a fun idea but the colours and patterns of textiles also communicate other important information such as belief and social status to include inscriptions that often link to the choice of pattern.

The Kanga design consists of a continuous border with a central image; a development from sewing together printed handkerchiefs. The cotton and wool Kanga on display had been printed by hand using stencils or hand stamped with carved wooden blocks. I found this exhibition really interesting and felt the display had been thoughtfully chosen. This has given me lots of inspiration for my next collection as I am hopeful I will have time to squeeze in one more before the degree show! 

And I leave you with this Kanga inscription:

"I may be quiet but there's a lot in my heart"

Happy Easter

X

Anna Parkina's Collages

On Friday I had this feeling where I needed to get out of the studio and inspire myself. The fruit and vegetables printed collection I have been working on for the last few weeks is coming to a close and I am preparing myself for the next set of designs. I have decided I would like to illustrate my next collection using the process of collage. It honestly looks like fun and I really enjoy working with textures too. I collected some bits from the garden whilst I was at home to include feathers to design from, along with hay from the stables and bark from the tree to print textures with... following on from my harvest theme. Below is a bespoke screen printed design that I hand stitched into.

I decided to go to the Saatchi Gallery and there is currently a really good Moscow Art Show featuring new art from Russia. I particularly liked Anna Parkina's collaged pieces that explore past and present Russia. The abstract imagery and geometric shapes were beautiful and the way the materials were unevenly stuck down highlighted the ordinary materials she had used for the processes made me decide I might be able to give it a go.

This week I will be practicing the art of collage.

X

Walcot Project

Just lately I have been really busy and have sadly neglected my blog, which I have missed! In the mean time I have been inspired of course but I have not been able to share all my recent experiences with the land of blog spots. Monday evening I went to the Walcot Project private view. This is an exhibition by textiles students at my university studying in their second year, last April my year did a similar project where we got to organize our own exhibition and I got to show the mayor around. This time I was really impressed with the student's work and they had better wine and beautiful music. Here are some photographs I took of my favourite pieces and of course there was lots of other beautiful work but my camera did not do it justice!

Jake Chappel-Kelly. A beautiful part of nature.

 Jasmine Horton. Drawing with sewing machine.

 Chelsea Richardson. Visual Woven Surfaces.

 Louise Smales-Cresswell. Manipulated surface.

Reina Matsubara. Spring makes footsteps.

You might have noticed I have instagram now, which has really improved my documenting ability/ laziness... X

Tim Walker: Story Teller

I finally managed to see the Tim Walker: Story Teller exhibition at Somerset House yesterday. The exhibition ends tomorrow but I had to go particularly because I had heard such great feedback! The images were so exciting and varied, full of different ideas yet Tim Walker's style linked the pieces together. The photographs were full of humor, quirk and glamour. Tim Walker is one of the most influential fashion photographers today. I fell in love with the set design and the props were really impressive in detail and scale. Then watching the videos on show allowed me to recognize the possibilities of working in a team where everyone is good at what they do. The set would usually include hair and make-up artists, fashion stylists, costume fitters, models and of course the master photographer capturing this creative energy. I recognized several photo shoots that I had seen in Vogue up to a few years ago that had somehow stuck in my mind. It always feels nice when you can make a nostalgic connection between a piece of work and your personal history, particularly when it involves the simple action of flicking through the pages of a magazine. With all this constructed elegance, the outcomes are inspiringly perfect.

Madness is a part of Life

I recently went to Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo. There is currently an exhibition on the top floor called Madness is a part of Life, on until 6th January 2013. The title refers to common situations in our daily lives and knowing we all need a little madness in our lives! This raises awareness that around life there is a body we are a part of. Through passing through this sculpture we are able to re-discover Tokyo's cityscape from another perspective by raising awareness of the space of life with thanks to Brazilian Artist Ernesto Neto and his studio Atelienave. The body of the sculpture was made up of plastic balls that were fun to walk on and the catwalk led up to the living area which was incredibly peaceful and trapped the warmth from the sun, I could have relaxed there and looked out across the cityscape all day if I didn't have so many places to see.

Heatherwick Studio

I recently went to an exhibition at the V&A that introduced me to the Heatherwick Studio, I had seen examples of projects before but here I could link them all together. The studio was established by Thomas Heatherwick in 1994, the work spans the disciplines of architecture, furniture, engineering, sculpture and urban planning. The projects explore the development of form by creating extraordinary yet functional designs and each project develops experimental ideas by pushing materials to their creative limits. This exhibition was truly inspiring and spoke in depth about the processes of design in each studio.

 UK Pavilion

 Spun

 Twisted Cabinet

 Boat

Olympic Cauldron

Whitechapel Gallery

Last week I went to the Whitechapel Gallery because I happened to be in the area and felt like soaking up some inspiration. There are currently some interesting pieces on display and the collection is really diverse to include photography, 3D sculpture, textiles and art.

 I like this printed scarf above by Pio Abad called 'Loot'. Acid dye has been printed onto a silk twill. The magenta is really strong but I think the general composition works really nicely.

 This 'Prism' by Robert Orchardson is really smart because from a distance it looks like a three dimensional piece but when you get up close you can see it is in fact two dimensional. I think you can have lots of fun with illusions.

 This 'Zibra' piece by Caroline Achaintre has really interesting lines and the colours work well together but the texture and loose ends are my favourite design aspect.

 I think ALice Channer is really talented and I think these steel elastics are fabulous but I think she has displayed this well because the light has interfered with each piece to create wonderful shadows on the wall behind.

 I was once told that a textiles designer should be able to create at least 20 designs from 1 source of inspiration and I think '10 views of the union jack' by Tom Phillips is a great example.

'We've got the sun in our eyes' by Ruth Potter is a dreamy piece and I love dreamy themes and just the idea of having the sun in my eyes makes me smile because I think of all the wonderful summers I have had and all the wonderful summers to come.

MR BRAINWASH

Last week I stumbled upon this art show along New Oxford Street, London. Mr Brainwash has spent a long time following and filming the most renowned street artists of this century which has inspired his own pop art. This is his first European UK solo art show and it's free entry. I even came home with a free poster. This was a really interesting exhibition and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Everywhere I turned I was taken in by interesting interpretations of fabulous art works and the Old Sorting Office is a great venue.

XOXO

bauhaus art is life

Bauhaus art is life is an exhibition that will be running until 12th August at the Barbican. The exhibition explores the world's most famous art and design school. With over 400 works ranging from sculpture, painting, architecture, film, photography, furniture, graphics, product design, textiles, ceramics and theatre. The Bauhaus is characterized by a culmination of experimentation, collaboration and play. 

Above: Johannes Itten, colour sphere in seven light stages and twelve tones

Above: Lyonel Feininger showing it was important for students to understand the different qualities of materials.

Above: Wassily Kandinsky, 1 of 12 prints from the Small Worlds collection.

Above: Puppets made for Felix Klee by Paul Klee.

Above: Lath Chair, TI 1a by Marcel Breuer, cherry wood and fabric.

Above: Set of four stacking tables by Josef Albers.

Above: Wallpaper Designs by Heinrich-Siegfried Bormann

Above: Fabric print design by Hajo Rose.

Above: A selection of works by Marianne Brandt using collage and ink.

These were just a few inspiring products and works I noticed around the exhibition. I feel it s well work a look and also envious that I wasn't ever able to attend the Bauhaus as a student myself!