Threading ancient land-forms together

Alvena Hall, ‘Funisia lace vessel’, Photo: Michel Kluvanek

A new textile exhibition Contemplating an Archean Land opens next Sunday 7 October at Prospect Gallery, and features the work of Ines Parker and Alvena Hall. 

Alvena Hall, a lace expert who recently was a finalist in the Love Lace 2011 exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney and also this years Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, works explore the geological record of when the great continents formed. Inspired by the Ediacara Hills in the northern Flinders Ranges, her pieces also look into the deep ices ages, erosion of the ancient sea pavements and the ongoing discovery of fossils in the area today.

Ines Parker, ‘No. 3 Karlwe Karlwe series’, woven tapestry: wool, cotton, silk, 59 x 28cm.

Ines Parker's inspiration is drawn from the Devils Marbles in Northern Territory, whilst the artist was camping in the area. According to the local Warumungu indigenous Australians, the huge rounded stones are eggs laid during the Dreamtime by the Rainbow Serpent. The works emphasize the mystical presence of land formations, which transform throughout different times of the day. 

"The collection of artwork produced, including wall pieces in traditional quilt format, 

complex cloth with elaborated surfaces, smaller panels, and sculptured lace, takes on the notion that time is a kind of filter and it selects only certain biota, under very special conditions to become fossils. That they are ever found at all is even more remarkable." - Prospect Gallery, 2012

Tea–bag trail by Susan Long

Contemporary textile art quilts are big news at the moment. This one, titled 'Tea-bag Trail' features tea dyeing, shibori and running stitch, based on the design concept of a journey by road map, through an Australian 

outback landscape. 

It was accepted for entry to Dare to Differ 2011, a contemporary quilt exhibition curated by the Quilters Guild of SA. Dare to 

Differ 2011, was open to all quilt makers resident in Australia. It was a juried selection. 

My design evolved, whilst experimenting with natural tea- dyeing and a shibori technique. I folded and tied with string, small packages of bleached calico that resembled tea-bags. In the tea dyeing process, some of the tea ran into the folds of the calico forming a grid-like pattern. 

This grid-pattern created the structure of a map. After laying out the tea-dyed calico and lining up the grid-pattern, I patched and pieced it together by hand, sewing through two layers with invisible stitches. Stitching through two or more layers of predominantly fibre was an entry requirement, to comply with the structure of a quilt. With a 2B pencil, I hand drew an imaginary section of an Australian outback road map, directly onto the calico. Strong diagonal and curving lines criss-cross my quilt landscape, adding perspective. The earthy and tonal colour variations of the tea dyeing, combined with the shibori, grid patterning and string resist, determined my colour palette: mono-chromatic (tones of warm and cool browns). 

DMC brand embroidery stranded and perle cotton threads were used throughout, along with running stitch for its strong mark making qualities. Other stitches included back stitch, stem stitch and couched thread. To complete the design, I added a focal point: a place where the eyes can rest before moving around the design. I embroidered a circle in stem stitch in the lower left hand side of the quilt. This was my focal point. The circle references a place or location situated on a map. The road map layer links journey and travel through an outback Australian landscape to destination Adelaide, South Australia.

For a visual artist (not a quilt maker), I felt a sense of achievement that my quilt, 'Tea-bag Trail' which began its journey based on experiments with natural tea dyeing and shibori and journey by map, was accepted for Dare to Differ, 2011, contemporary quilt exhibition. The exhibition ran from 30 September - 23 October, 2011, held at Gallery M Cultural Centre.

Susan Long graduated in 2009 with a (Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design) from Adelaide College of the Arts, Adelaide, S.A. This article was published in Embellish Magazine Issue No. 9. Her next exhibition 'House Special', mixed media works by Red House Group Inc. members, opened on 28 September at Gallery M, Marion Cultural Centre and runs until 21 October.

Contextart FORUM 14–20 April

Only a week until TAFTA's Contextart Forum in the Blue Mountains. Offering both 2 day and 4 day workshops with 29 tutors across a variety of textile techniques including papermaking, basketry, felting, shibori and dyeing, artists' books and even woven jewellery it is incredible opportunity for those wanting to add a wide range of skills to their practice. For the full list of workshops and their teachers, visit the forum website.

Scribbles + Glitter Beginnings | Amanda McCavour

Toronto-based artist, Amanda McCavour, creates incredibly detailed and tonal drawings by sewing onto a dissolvable fabric, leaving the threads vulnerable and left to hang for themselves, and effectively subtly distorting the imagery in her works. 

Recreating more literal representations of the objects within McCavour's surrounds include Living Room and StandIn for Home whilst more organic and repetitive shapes can be found in installations Icebox and Scribble.

Amanda McCavour graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts. She has participated in a number of solo and group exhibitions in Toronto, and is currently an artist in residence in the Harboufront Centre's Studio.

26,000 piece Textile Archive

Andrea Aranow Textile Archive from Aaron Rayburn on Vimeo.

Feature Artist | Cheryl Hutchens

Tell us about yourself, how would you describe your work? My work explores the experience of illness and the fragility of the body. Recent work has used embroidery to investigate some common viruses and bacteria which cause us pain and suffering.

Who or what inspires you to create? Most of all I really like making things. If I wasn’t making art I’d be stitching home wares or making clothes. I’m fascinated by the internal workings of the body and I get a great deal of my inspiration from medical textbooks, documentaries and TV shows like Embarrassing Bodies.

What materials do you like to work with? Any fibre, but mostly cloth based textiles. At the moment I’m really interested in embroidery and knitting.

What are your favourite 5 art related websites or blogs?

www.craftaustralia.org.au – for industry news and information about grants, competitions and exhibitions

craftvic.org.au – I would like to say I visit just for news…but often also for shopping

www.ravelry.com – a fantastic source for knitting inspiration

yarnstorm.blogs.com/jane_brocket/ – wonderful blog by an English author devoted to all the good things in life (…knitting, quilting, baking) and she posts beautiful photographs of her creations and travels

www.visualarts.net.au – NAVA is good for arts business advice (and you can look me up in the artist galleries here to see more of my work)

If you could give one piece of advice for emerging artists, what would it be? Make the work that you want to make and don’t be influenced too much by other’s opinions.

Cheryl Hutchens graduated from the South Australian School of Art in 1999 with a Bachelor of Visual Arts. She studied dress-making at Douglas Mawson Institute of TAFE before moving to London in 2003, where she lived for two years and worked in the Library and Archive of the Tate Gallery. Cheryl was a finalist in the Stanthorpe Art Festival and the Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art Award in 2010, and in February this year her Break, suffer, heal series was acquired by the Adelaide University’s art collection. Cheryl is currently undertaking post-graduate study at the South Australian School of Art.

Exhibitions | Dare to Differ & Ernabella Arts

Spring has definitely sprung and October has many wonderful exhibitions, artist talks and workshops to offer. Dare to Differ at Gallery M is a celebration of contemporary quilts curated by the Quilters Guild of South Australia and features Red Thread member Susan Long. Head along to the exhibition floor talk "What is an Art Quilt?" on Sunday 16 October 2pm, which looks at the quilts on display as well as hearing from Suzanne Gummow on what makes a good quilt. Cost is FREE however bookings are essential 8377 2904 and for more details visit the Gallery M website

Image: June Brown, rust on cotton

SA Museum will present an exhibition of new works from Ernabella Arts, Australia's oldest Indigenous arts centre, acknowledging its long history but with sights firmly set on the future. Opening from 14 October - 13 November, the museum will run storytelling and basket making workshops which can be booked through the Education Team 8207 7429 for more info visit the SA Museum website

'the empty nest' exhibition opening

I welcome you all to join me to celebrate the opening of my first solo exhibition the empty nest, next Sunday 2 October 4-6pm at Seedling Art Space, cnr Main Road & Turners Avenue, Coromandel Valley.

In this exhibition, I have utilised handmade papers to create works reflecting my childhood experience of separated homes filled with coming and going, traversing from one to the other and attempting to discover my identity as a whole, rather than in fragmented parts. 

Accompanying the sculpture/installation work of hybrid nest/egg forms, is a series of large format photographs of found empty nests, symbolising a home once occupied, a remnant of place no longer shared.

The exhibition is open 11am-3pm Saturdays and Sundays from 1 - 16 October and I will be sitting the gallery during this time, so please feel free to come look and have a chat.

Collective Meeting | 5 October

Come join our friendly group of artists at our next meeting on 

Wednesday 5 October 6:30 start - 9pm.Head to Box Factory, Regent Street Adelaide upstairs to the Hurtle Room, all you need to do is bring along your current work or project and be open to sharing your ideas and techniques with other artists. 

If you think  someone would be interested in attending our meetings, we really enjoy meeting artists/craftspeople from all different backgrounds. You never know how your work might inspire another or what you may learn from others, so the Red Thread door is always open and welcome.

LOVE LACE | Tsunami by Janet Echelman

How wonderful is it to see that the age-old technique of lace is being celebrated in today’s art world in the Love Lace exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. 134 artists from 20 countries unleash their passion for lace in this spectacular exhibition of winning entries and finalists in the Museum’s International Lace Award.

The exhibition ranges from bold large-scale installations and sculptures to intricate textiles and jewellery. Materials include gold and silver wire, linen and silk as well as mulberry paper, tapa cloth, horse hair, titanium and optical fibre.

One artist who demonstrates how a traditional technique can be transformed into contemporary art is the 24 metre wide lace work titled Tsunami by Janet Echelman (USA) that will be installed 13 metres above George Street at the Sydney Town Hall from  23 September to 23 October.

Tsunami was inspired and gets its name from the events that unfolded following the 2010 Chile earthquake. Echelman was motivated by the 1.26 micro second shortening of that day on February 27, which resulted from the earthquake’s redistribution of the Earth’s mass.

‘By meditating on these epiphenomena, the work underscores the interdependence of Earth systems and the global community.  It asks the viewer to pause and consider the larger fabric of which they are a part,” said Janet Echelman.


For more information and images on all the works in the exhibition visit the Love Lace website.

Feature Artist: Rachel Penn (UK)

Get ready for one of most in-depth feature artist post Red Thread has ever had. Rachel Penn contacted us after moving recently to Adelaide after graduating from the Chelsea School of Art Textile Design program and I couldn't wait to share her practice with the Adelaide community and our readers to gain an insight into her unique and striking pieces. Read on...

Tell us about yourself, how would you describe your work? I think I would best describe myself as an all rounder. Although I have predominantly focused on knit and crochet for the last few years I would still consider myself a mixed media textile designer, I love to get involved and experiment with all processes and materials, exploring the true potential of fabric design. I especially have a passion for niche, constructed and very detailed textiles that have a strong focus on concept, following them through into bespoke or editorial fashion, jewellery and interior pieces. I find it particularly uplifting seeing my design work through to end, from drawings and samples, to the finalised collection. 

Who or what inspires you as a textile designer? The inspiration behind my previous projects has always varied depending on the brief given. I like my design ideas to follow a strong narrative, taking inspiration either from the diverse patterns and constructive qualities of architecture to the organic forms and structures in nature. I particularly love to explore different cultures and the diverse aspects of life within them, looking at historical craft techniques and the art associated with individual countries. I also believe that drawing, painting and taking photos are extremely important parts of the design process when it comes to developing your ideas and gaining inspiration about a subject. 

What materials do you like to work with? My list of favourite materials to work with is always changing depending on the project at hand, however I have focused alot on knit and crochet the past couple of years. Having very little prior knowledge of the craft, with its heavily traditional connotations, I felt it gave me the opportunity to explore the potential within a constructive process, finding new ways to use yarn as a basis for mixed media, structural design. I love to experiment between the contrast in hard and soft materials, which I focused on in my final degree show project.

What did you most enjoy about the Textile Design program at Chelsea College of Art? I believe that the best thing about my Textile Design degree at Chelsea was the opportunity to meet like minded, creative individuals. I loved working in the studios amongst my peers, immersing myself in contemporary design 24/7. Also the fact that I was based in London was a huge bonus as it fed my enthusiasm for knowledge and inspiration, something that has brought me to Australia with a desire to see and experience more worldwide.

Is textiles highly regarded as a medium in contemporary visual arts culture? Textiles has the ability to connect us to our past through the tradition of the craft. It can create social identity, bring together communities and represent culture, and this is something that I as a designer try to represent in my textiles through hand crafted techniques used in a contemporary style. It is important to bring textiles into the present contemporary visual arts culture as it is way to connect to the individual using nostalgia.

What are your favourite 5 art related websites or blogs? Well I would say that my favourite website and blogs depend on what I am researching at the time. Previously when in London, I always used to look at the big museum websites such as the V&A, Tate and Somerset House, for inspirational artists and designers or for current exhibitions. I love looking through blogs as you never know what someone else has discovered such as an art piece, fashion designer or illustrator, that could inspire your own work. 

How do you think living in Australia, will influence your designs? As a designer I feel that is extremely important, especially if your given the opportunity, to stimulate your senses and to see as much as possible. After living in london for 4 years I was ready to experience something new, a different environment and culture to inspire me, and when my Family up and moved to Australia, it presented me with this opportunity to begin my discoveries. Im hoping that being here will enable me to explore another side of the world that I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing, immersing myself in the art, community and place.

Red Thread Collective looks forward to meeting Rachel at the next meeting on Wednesday 21 September, but for now check out her website and blog to see more of her amazing works. 

As Far as the Eye Can See

Question: What happens when 22 women who work as professional designers, artists and dancers to doctors, scientists and project managers put their crochet skills to good use? 

Answer: A gallery size, giant eye artwork including 500 hand crocheted squares using 182,784 stitches all in the name of raising funds for Gap Filler, a creative urban regeneration initiative that is taking art and community to Christchurch's vacant city spaces after the city's devastating earthquake in February. 

The work is currently on display at Rodeo, 162-168 Gilbert Street, Adelaide until 28 October before heading to Christchurch to be exhibition in November. For more information and images visit the website here.

The group seeks to continue making a contribution to the Christchurch community through ongoing projects to connect artists, community and provide story.

Looking for Contemporary Textile Artists...

Recently I have been noticing a large volume of viewers of the Red Thread blog are searching for Contemporary Textile Artists. It’s fantastic to see there are so many people interested into the modern interpretations of traditional textile crafts but where can you find sources of artists for a medium that could be seen as an aged sideline in the contemporary visual arts culture? Answer: Below I have featured three titles that I have come across, each listing an amazing array of contemporary textile artists for you all to check out…

By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art

In a response to the sleek forms and perfect angles of most late twentieth century design objects, many of today's artists and designers are returning to handmade work such as hand lettering, hand drawing, and hand sewing. From books to pillows to T-shirts to toys, the pieces in this volume define an alternative view of contemporary design. Artists include Kirsten Hassenfeld, Victoria May, Kent Henricksen, Aya Kakeda, Dave Cole, Margarita Cabrera and Kelly Breslin.

Slash: Paper under the Knife

Published to accompany a traveling exhibit opening at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, Slash: Paper Under the Knife examines the resurgence of traditional handcraft materials and techniques in contemporary art and design. Highlighting the work of forty-five international artists, among them Noriko Ambe, Ben Cowd, Dylan Graham, Oliver Herring, Georgia Russell, Olafur Eliasson, Tom Friedman, William Kentridge, and Kara Walker, the book features not only cut but also burned, torn, laser-cut, shredded and sculpted paper art.

Contemporary Textiles: The Fabric of Fine Art

This book is a stunning and comprehensive look at emerging artists from one of the most exciting mediums in the fine art world today that profiles some of the most daring and innovative examples of textiles in fine art. Artists include Matthew Barney, Maria Pineres, Jennifer Angus, Elaine Reichek, Jessica Rankin, Rosemarie Trockel, Yinka Shonibare, Tilleke Schwarz, Cosima von Bonin, Ghada Amer, Annette Messager, Mike Kelley, and Christo and Jeanne Claude.

Enjoy J

Science Sewing Circle | Sera Waters

As part of Flocked: collecting bird stories from SA exhibition at the South Australian Museum, artist Sera Waters will be hosting a Science Sewing Circle on Saturday 14 August 1:00 – 3:30pm. Bring along a stitching project and bird stories to share and experience the museum’s bird collection in the Biodiversity Gallery.

This is the last week to see the Inside SAM's Place exhibition which is an ongoing collaboration between Craftsouth and the South Australian Museum. Bookings are essential so please register on 8207 7090,

Waters has spent the last several months studying bird collections in the South Australian Museum and gathering personal bird stories from the public via a blog and a nest box installed in the museum foyer. Flocked  features new textile and embroidered work presented, together with bird skins, eggs and nests from the museum collection, creating a rich and complex world of anecdote and art celebrating the colourful culture of local birds and people, and the connections between them. "After the wonderful time I spent with the bird collection, and with individual birds, it struck me how much their world is intertwined with ours, and how reliant we are upon one another," says Waters.

Image: Sera Waters, Self as Plover, 2011, printed linen, felt, crewel and sequins, cotton + card, 130 x 80cm

the empty nest | pozible crowdfunding

For my upcoming solo exhibition, the empty nest at Seedling Art Space in October, I have established a community funding intiative through Pozible. Click this link for full project description and to make a pledge.

Pozible provides creative project creators with a platform to present their ideas to a worldwide audience. If anyone likes the idea, they can support it by pledging money to the creator's project. In return for their support, the project creator will offer rewards depending on the level of funding, essentially differentiating itself from the normal funding process.

 

As a textile artist, my practice predominantly utilizes the medium of handmade and recycled paper to transform a ubiquitous material from a flat surface into a three dimensional form. Exploring the notions of memory, belonging and the handmade I focus on altering the surface of the paper to create tactile qualities. This exhibition will be a significant professional development opportunity to present my first solo show as an emerging artist. 

 

Contributions of $10+ will fund a mentor/writer fee by Dr. Irmina van Niele, costs of production and installation needs, gallery hire, printing of invitations as well as play an important role in the development of my work as an emerging artist. 

 

Your support through pledges, forwarding this link by email or through Facebook or Twitter would be greatly appreciated. If you think anyone would be interested in supporting the project or if they would like more information, please feel free to contact me at k.growden@live.com

India Textiles Tour with Barb Mullen

Experience the rich textile culture of the Gujarat region in India with passionate and highly skilled textile artist Barbara Mullen. It was wonderful to meet Barb at the last Red Thread meeting and hear about her enduring practice as a maker and teacher of traditional textile techniques as well as running international textile tours. 

For thirteen days 10 ~ 22 January 2012, participants will be able to immerse themselves in silk, cotton, calico and wool, by visiting the Rabari tribal village, Maharajah's Palace in Gondai, Calico Museum of Textiles and Kutch's specialist textile and craft villages. Price per person $A5890 includes all airfares, most meals, accommodation, transport, workshops and transfers. 

For more information the tour is produced by World Expeditions contact on 1300 720 000 or enquires@worldexpeditions.com.au

Crochet + Social Activism Unite

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef - "Ladies Silurian Atoll" (detail). 

Photo © The Institute For Figuring (by Margaret Wertheim)

When I conjure up images of one of Australia's great wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef, I picture an explosion of colour in the most electric hues. Whilst I haven't been lucky enough to visit the colossal reef system stretching for over 2,600kms, I am afraid I will be disappointed with what I would see. Scientists now believe with the affects of global warming, the reef will become devastated in coming years. Now you may be wondering if Red Thread has turned into a group to analyse the natural world and its many manifestations. Wrong! In 2005, sisters Margaret and Christine Wertheim created the worldwide Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project to pay homage to the threat of devastation to this fragile monster. Initially beginning in their humble living room and gradually expanding throughout their house, today their are crochet communities or 'satellites' popping up in Chicago, New York, London to Dublin and Capetown. Now the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is calling for South Australian craftspeople to join in and create your own hyperbolic model which marries handicraft with mathematics, marine biology, social activism and community art on a global scale. To see the many worldwide contributions to the projects visit RiAus and get inspired and get on board.