Drawings and colour...

Drawings developed from Natural History Museum.

Coastal Gallery Hop

I visited some coastal galleries at the weekend.  I enjoyed Bircham Gallery in Holt- they had a Modern British exhibition on, showcasing the likes of Sir Peter Blake and Barbara Rae.

These pieces were my favourites , I am a big fan of collage and mixed media I think it gives the eye something new to look at each time. It is like art especially for ADD brains, always challenging the eye. The Pop Art works of Sir Peter Blake are layered and colourful yet coupled with neutrals do not become brash. I have a passion for using vintage imagery and text within my pieces, I think he has added depth with his use of text taking the narrative further than if it were purely image based. I also appreciate his use of sparkle within these pieces adding glamour and movement to the still imagery

   

Wooden Puzzle Collection- Friendship

 Silkscreen and collage 2013

Sir Peter Blake

                Wooden Puzzle Collection- Landscape

 Silkscreen and Collage 
Sir Peter Blake

'Academy' Sir Peter Blake

Barbara Rae is a highly acclaimed painter and printmaker who creates beautiful and colourful works. Her inspiration comes from the places filled with light yet she rejects the fact that some people refer to her as a landscape painter.

                                                                Repare- 2010 Silkscreen

Rae uses washes of bold colour; merging form, line and hue into each other with dynamic composition, breaking up the picture surface with thrusting lines. The works draw the viewer into the artist's vision, emitting energy and warmth. I love the textures she creates using unusual brushstrokes and creating a sense of movement with her vast colour schemes. It seems that she can't stick to a small colour palette which is how I feel within my own work.

http://www.birchamgallery.co.uk/

I also visited Burnham Deepdale- The Hare and The Hen Gallery. I have previously heard of this shop where the ceramic works of the owner are made and sold and also pieces are sold on behalf of other artists.  I really enjoyed the work of Nicola Hart who paints coastal and wildlife scenes using paint layered onto tatters of paper. If you look closely you can see text and or pattern peeking through from the fur of the animal or a sail on a boat. Simply beautiful. I can see comparisons with my own work, I think using text as texture is really fun to work with.

http://www.deepdalefarm.co.uk/dalegatemarket

Materials

It's the start of the last project of uni life...I am slightly terrified. To ease my panic I've decided to keep busy by heading out to source materials. I decided to buy 4oz wadding because my intention is to make a lamp and a parasol so I don't want the quilting to look too heavy. I also picked up some different weights of plain cotton to experiment with in terms or weights.

My best finds were in a charity shop as usual, some teeny weeny brass chairs and a teapot, some vintage pearls, satin and a pre-embroidered table cloth. I'm excited about what I can use these for...watch this space!

Houghton Hall; Revisited

I visited Houghton Hall at the weekend to see the 'Revisited' exhibition- the Walpole masterpieces from Catherine the Great's Hermitage. I knew that I would gain more inspiration from the house than the paintings.  It was gloriously ornate.

This giant shell above the bedhead in the green velvet chamber was my favourite thing in the whole house.  I love the oversized scale and shape. To fit the embroidery around the wood carving must have taken hours of work.  It inspired me and I can imagine making a decorative, quilted shell as a head piece for a photo shoot or a quirky accessory. 

 

The feet of the chairs were claws and the arms were formed of carved eagle heads. Reminded me of something from a fairy tale castle.

 

The walkway leading to the west wing of the house is pictured below. Everything was designed to be symmetrical and to appear long. This is to show how much land and therefore how much money the owners had. It looks to me like you are being pulled into a fantasy.

Art Nouveau; Alphonse Mucha

With it's flowing lines and organic shapes inspired by flowers and natural forms, Art Nouveau (1890-1910) is a big inspiration within my work.  It depicts movement and magic and harmony with surroundings.

According to the philosophy of the style, art should be a way of life. For many Europeans, it was possible to live in an art nouveau-inspired house with art nouveau furniture, silverware, crockery, jewellery, cigarette cases, etc. Artists desired to combine the fine arts and applied arts, even for utilitarian objects.  Art nouveau and it's decorative style was utilised within the fairgrounds very ornate fronts.

Alphonse Mucha

The Seasons 1896

 

 

I love the colours that Mucha uses in his work, time after time I am drawn to girly muted pastels. I also like the fact that Mucha uses outlines within his work yet they don't appear harsh because they are also muted mocha or greys. I also like his choices of theme, for example, the months, the times of day, the seasons. All themes that conjure up numerous ideas for imagery and colour palette.

 

 

 

 

Salon des Cent 20th Exhibition (1896)

 

 

 

Similar  colours used within my own sampling

The Victorian Fairground and Menageries

A menagerie is a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoo. The term was first used in seventeenth century France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to aristocratic or royal animal collections. The French-language "Methodical Encyclopaedia" of 1782 defines a menagerie as an "establishment of luxury and curiosity." Later on, the term referred also to travelling animal collections that exhibited wild animals at fairs across Europe and the Americas.

In the Victorian period there was a boom in fairground attractions and menageries. Boxing shows, 'Freak shows', ghost trains and carousels were all part of the magic of the olden day fairground. This occurred at the same time as an increasing interest in the visual arts. The rides, art work and displays of the fair grounds became very ornate as photographed below. 

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