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