yes, wonderful things

A break in the textile posts for a dahlia moment. We visited the...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:19:48 +1000

A break in the textile posts for a dahlia moment. We visited the amazing dahlia farm Country Dahlias on its last open weekend for the year. The farm is home to over 20,000 tubers and has been a labour of love for its owner Jenny Parish for more than 20 years. It was also absolute heaven. This was my ‘pick-your-own’ bunch.

About a month ago I posted a pic of an beautiful strippie quilt...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:08:00 +1000

About a month ago I posted a pic of an beautiful strippie quilt from the 1860s at the International Quilt Study Centre. I finished a quilt inspired by it this weekend. I am very pleased with this one and feel like it is taking my work in a bit of a new direction. I am interested in playing around more with using predominantly black & white with some colours as highlights and some use of small scale prints. I just ordered a load of solid colours and 19th century reproduction shirting so we’ll see where we go from here.

(All photographs copyright Tom Grotta, courtesy of browngrotta...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:48:00 +1100

Indigo 22, 1984

Black & White 3, 2006

Black & White 2, 2006

(All photographs copyright Tom Grotta, courtesy of browngrotta arts)

Ethel Stein, like Shelia Hicks, studied with Josef Albers in the 1940s. Her beautiful weavings often combine a damask structure with ikat dyeing techniques. She spent many years as a researcher at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and this experience has strongly informed her weaving style. I particularly love the indigo piece at the top here—the deft use of strong geometrics with the soft indigo dye of the yarn is blissful.

The relationship between this design sketch and then resulting...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:50:00 +1100

Wall hanging Flat-weave with partly reversed harness Warp: cotton. Weft: wool and viscose 1923

Design for wall hanging called "Mit gewendetem Schuetzen" 1923 39.4x31.5 cm

The relationship between this design sketch and then resulting weaving by Gunta Stölzl is just fantastic. I love to find where there has been small design changes.

In my work with weave, tapestry, machine knitting and quilting—graph paper is an invaluable resource. In fact I think that graph paper may actually be the one connection between my work in all these different mediums—revelation of the day for me!

First tapestry sampler

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 21:35:00 +1100

First tapestry sampler

(all early 20th century Sawtooth Star quilts via IQSCM) I am not...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:40:30 +1100

(all early 20th century Sawtooth Star quilts via IQSCM)

I am not a natural lover of stars—quilt stars that is—but the boldness and strangeness of the sawtooth star pattern does draw me in. I think maybe it’s because it nearly doesn’t look like a star at all—more a simple kaleidoscope or tangram pattern. The five-star quilt in the middle has a strange pull on me which may be resolved by making one…

These three quilts are from the amazing Folk Museum exhibition...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:06:44 +1100

These three quilts are from the amazing Folk Museum exhibition Infinite Variety that was staged for six days in the Armory in 2011 and starred 651 red and white quilts. My mum was lucky enough to be in New York that week and calls it one of the highlights of her ‘art life’. And I am lucky enough to have the quite excellent free iPad app which lets you look at great photos of every single quilt.

Different ones jump out at me every time I go though them all but at the moment I am interested in the way these three do something a bit different with the basic half-triangle block. The half-drop pattern on the first one here is particularly brilliant.

Primary Pattern: Carpenter’s SquareQuiltmaker: Maker...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:26:00 +1100

Primary Pattern: Carpenter’s Square
Quiltmaker: Maker unknown
Geographical Origin: Possibly made in Indiana, United States
Date: Circa 1880-1900
Style/Type: Blue and White
Dimensions (LxW): 196 x 161 Centimeters

Via IQSC

Primary Pattern: Carpenter’s SquareQuiltmaker: Maker...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:16:44 +1100

Primary Pattern: Carpenter’s Square
Quiltmaker: Maker unknown
Geographical Origin: Made in United States
Date: Circa 1950
Style/Type: Signature
Dimensions (LxW): 191 x 196 Centimeters

Via IQSC

Australian Tapestry Workshop sells weaving yarn in 366 colours....

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 21:22:11 +1100

Australian Tapestry Workshop sells weaving yarn in 366 colours. It is a total colour dreamland.

David Noonan, Unititled, 2012 (in progress at the Australian...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:32:00 +1100

David Noonan, Unititled, 2012 (in progress at the Australian Tapestry Workshop)

I have been thinking a bit lately about the differences between the role of tapestry as a mode of reproduction and as an art form in itself. In the former example the work of the Australian Tapestry Workshop and Dovecot Studios is interesting. Both are amazing homes to tapestry artists in their own rights as well as producing incredible editions of existing work. (The ATW’s two recent David Noonan tapestries are mind-blowing.)

I don’t know what it really means for the position of the art form in a wider art context but I imagine the blurring between creation and production creates some complication.

Primary Pattern:BarsAlternate...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:52:00 +1100

Primary Pattern:Bars
Alternate Pattern:Strippie
Quiltmaker:“A A M”
Geographical Origin:Made in United States
Date:Circa 1860
Style/Type:Bars/Strippie
Dimensions (LxW):216 x 236 Centimeters
Primary Technique:Pieced, Hand

via IQSCM

Great use of scale here with the boldness of the stripes and the sharpness of those small triangles. The line patterned fabric used for the stripes adds another dimension that softens the overall design. I love the monchrome colourway of this but if I was remaking I think I would use a different base colour for the half-triangle areas just to add a bit of ‘!’ in there.

Primary Pattern: Diamond, Hexagon setting Quiltmaker: Maker...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:45:00 +1100

Primary Pattern: Diamond, Hexagon setting
Quiltmaker: Maker unknown
Geographical Origin: Probably made in Kentucky, United States
Date: Circa 1855
Dimensions (LxW): 213 x 168 Centimeters
Primary Technique: Pieced, Hand Whip
Other Techniques: Pieced, Hand Primary
Fiber: Wool

Via IQSCM

I love the kind of ‘hot-messness’ of this tumbling block quilt from the mid-19th century. This example is a great opportunity to see how different colour values effect the way the pattern is ‘read’. You couldn’t call it relaxing viewing but the energy is what makes it great. If I was remaking this idea I would take out the flower motif with the red dominating in the middle and go full abstraction with the colour and pattern. Take it to the edge…

Shelia HicksÉcailles1976silk, wool, razor clam shells

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:59:00 +1100

Shelia Hicks
Écailles
1976
silk, wool, razor clam shells

Shelia HicksBonsai Tapestryca. 1986cotton rayon

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:57:17 +1100

Shelia Hicks
Bonsai Tapestry
ca. 1986
cotton rayon

I made a video about the design process (or lack of!) for the...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:25:00 +1100

I made a video about the design process (or lack of!) for the cover for Jonathan Lethem’s Chronic City which I did for Faber in 2009.

“Common colours. Rooted essentially in secondary greens, oranges...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:06:00 +1100

Wall work in greys and greens 2013 Canvas and thread 48 x 18 in

Plugged wall work #5 2013 Mixed media and found objects 15.75 x 4.75 in

Wall work in yellows 2013 Canvas and thread 72 x 48 in

“Common colours. Rooted essentially in secondary greens, oranges and purples – but pulled towards readymade mints, yolks and heliotropes conditioned by retail ubiquity, rather than the mixing of ﬁne pigment.”
— Peter Nencini, 2013

Peter Nencini, London-based artist & designer, has a really interesting show ‘Secondment’ on at Brooklyn gallery Beginnings at the moment. The ubiquity of what I think of as ‘the tyranny of good taste’ via online forums like pinterest, instagram and indeed tumblr can be overwhelming. This intellectual and philosophical approach to exploring the possibilities of ‘hidden’ commercial colours and forms is very inspiring. Makes me want to think and work harder!

Margot Rolf Vier driehoeken 1990 142 x 284 cm katoen, wol,...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:19:03 +1100

Margot Rolf
Vier driehoeken
1990
142 x 284 cm
katoen, wol, elastan
keper

Small break in the weaving proceedings to show a series I have...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:43:00 +1100

Small break in the weaving proceedings to show a series I have been working on for while. It just arrived from the printer today. Solid colour foils on uncoated stock with flaps…Not totally weaving unrelated as they were inspired by Bauhaus weavers…

Laurie Herrick, Crater, 1969, Wool; 56 x 28 inches; Collection...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:07:34 +1100

Laurie Herrick, Crater, 1969,

Wool; 56 x 28 inches; Collection of Museum of Contemporary Craft