Nick Cave Art

Nick Cave is a multi-disciplinary artist crossing the borders of fashion, installation and sculpture. For example with his 'Sound suit' collection he created outfits that express movement within modern dance using noise via textures, therefore offering maximum escapism both for the wearer and the viewer. Mouth wateringly- full of embellishment.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwupTQt9zxY- Interview with Nick Cave

Priscilla Jones....YUMMY!

Priscilla Jones creates beautiful textural artwork in both 2D & 3D using freehand machine stitch to portray movement, paints and material scraps.  Making something now perceived as purposeless useful, once again. The colours and the layers of paint, material and embellishment just make her work look as edible as it's subject matter...









http://www.flickr.com/photos/38187919@N08/with/4039000841/  

Tulle and Candyfloss....the relationship to my own work and context

Since I discovered Karen Casper's work last year, I have been captivated by her multimedia creations.

Her inspirations run alongside mine including vintage embellishments, the mythical and sea-coral.  She uses a variety of techniques such as Devore, fabric painting, stitching and her trademark three dimensional embroidery with glow in the dark thread. I think the layered aspect to her lace makes the work so much more captivating, it demands a second and third look.

Karen's market seems to be for bespoke one-off creations which means she can afford to spend both time and money on precious materials and the customer can ensure no one will ever have the same.

Her creations are normally an accessory to the body which can be viewed not only as fashion for editorials but also as exhibition pieces.  I also think costume definitely has a strong influence over her work and sculptural embroideries.  Her latest creations....


Ventalina - 3D embroidered fan

The piece is insipred by the growth and cultivation of the undewater world named after Gorgonia ventalina, the purple sea fan, which is an especially beautiful and delicate coral whose latticework of branches is reminiscent of lace. I used a 19th Century French lace fan as the base and applied 3D glow in the dark embroidery that includes vintage lace. Other techniques used within the piece include devore, digital print and other fabric manipulations. Finally embellished with vintage pearls and jewels.   The work is part of the Manchester Museum's Coral: Something Rich and Strange Exhibition




Violet - 3D embroidered headpiece

I  created the contemporary headpiece using pieces of Gawthorpe's antique lace,combined with glow in the dark thread to produce a 3D embroidered sculpture. I also chose two headpieces  from their collection to gain inspiration from. A steamed fur felt skullcap style hat from 1930-40. Trimmed with leaf shapes of the same fabric and a section of gold chain and a ladies bonnet from 1860-1890. It has a plaited straw triple brim lined and trimmed with velvet and is decorated with artificial lily of the valley and orange blossom flowers and flowers made from swans down. 





I love the combination of neutral colours and the odd dashes of bright.  I can very much identify with Karen Casper's context for her work. The aim of my work is also all about the accessory whether that be to decorate the body, an interior of a house or paper decoration.  I feel inspired to create a super decorative parasol, a mask and I want to bring together my love of millinery with my own prints and embroideries.

I also have wanted to do a photo shoot for my work for a long while.  I have ideas as for how I would stage this. In particular, my current work would look fabulous on models riding on a carousel.

http://www.tulleandcandyfloss.co.uk/violet-and-ventalina.html

Mister 'Fabulous' Finch

'Storytelling creatures for people who are also a little lost, found and forgotten'…

I absolutely adore the work of the elusive artist who makes under the name of Mister Finch. He creates these mysterious animal characters through fabric sculpture, that seem to come alive under his magical stitching hands. I find his work very emotive, beautiful crying hares, eerie smiling moons, majestic swans. The muted sometimes grubby colours of his art add to the depth of feeling within his pieces. Ink stains in tea and rich jewel colours are included within my favourite pieces, I feel these add to the archaic impression the fabrics give.  His collections have an antique-like preciousness to them.

 I first came across Mister Finch after reading an article in Making magazine, May 2013. This quote has since been imbedded in my own marking during my making processes....

 

...and like Mister Finch I truly believe in magic.

 

 

Mister Finch's inspirations come from nature and he returns to certain ideas again and again.
Flowers, insects and birds, along with fungi regularly make an appearance. 




The artist says of his inspiration 'British folklore is also so beautifully rich in fabulous stories and warnings and never ceases to be at the heart of what I make.  Shape shifting witches, moon gazing hares and a smartly dressed devil ready to invite you to stray from the path.' The fact that narrative is a key theme both during concept development and within materials and processes means that Mister Finch may be interesting to study for my research report.




'Humanizing animals with shoes and clothes is something I’ve always done and I imagine them to come alive at night. Getting dressed and helping an elderly shoemaker or the tired housewife.'

I feel that I can relate to what Mister Finch says about his work. I have always put a story to my work as well as everyday things around me. I can look at an animal in the garden or someone's pet and before I know it, I have a narrative buzzing around my head.



 'It’s a joy to hunt for things for my work…the lost, found and forgotten all have places in what I make.'

.

He uses found materials, such as pre-embroidered fabrics and scraps. The story of the fabric seems to translate into the narrative and seem to combine with his own narratives to create the characters back story.

 'Most of my pieces use recycled materials, not only as an ethical statement, but I believe they add more authenticity and charm. A story sewn in, woven in.  Velvet curtains from an old hotel, a threadbare wedding dress and a vintage apron become birds and beasts, looking for new owners and adventures to have.' 

The materials seem to speak to him and indicate what they want to be made into, rather that using a pre-conceived idea and then choosing fabrics.






http://www.facebook.com/Makingmagazine

http://www.mister-finch.com/portfolio

http://mynameisfinch.blogspot.co.uk/