Cas Holmes is well known for finding objects and re-using materials within her art. She has a degree in Fine Arts and has travelled extensively studying and exploring in many other countries.
I was lucky enough to meet her briefly and she was extremely willing to talk about her work and allow people to handle some pieces. Her work relates strongly to this module, in particular the variety of books she works on and how she incorporates media within her work. For me, the use of found objects also relates to my final piece.
Much of her work has a delicate and fragile feel which is very effective, especially in those works that relate to nature. Her books and structures are varied and interesting. The experimental books I made could be progressed onto a more considered work.
Her work often merges fabric and paper which is pulled together with her use of stitch. What appears simple at first glance, on further examination is a detailed and comprehensive study of her surroundings. I found it interesting to learn that she does not drive and therefore walks and finds inspiration from both nature and urban areas. I filled a sketchbook quite quickly when out walking.
I particularly like this rolled book. It reminds me of old parchments rolled in ancient times and each piece of fabric has been carefully placed and attached to produce the whole. The stitches then tell the story behind the work.
Lois Walpole
Lois Walpole achieved a BA (Hons) in sculpture and a City and Guilds in basket making. She describes herself as a 'designer and maker of baskets, furniture and art works. She includes natural materials and what she calls the 'detritus of consumerism'.
In her 2016 exhibition Weaving Ghosts, she worked with things that had washed up on the shores of Shetland. She called these things 'ghost gear' and used them to 'ghost' Shetland traditions. This fitted in with some of the ideas behind my final piece of work. I was looking for things which would have been washed up when the little cockle boats left for Dunkirk which are still left lying about today.
She weaves not only in traditional ways but in a more contemporary manner. This again fitted in with weaving into drawn thread samples and when I wove some threads over found objects. Lois also talks about wanting to 'make something from nothing' and I found in particular with this module I bought very little. The work in which she uses netting was particularly interesting as I had enjoyed making some netting and I like the way in which she has shaped the netting around the frames.
A lot of this module looked at grids and grid patterns. Lois uses grids in much of her work, sometimes grids she has made and sometimes re-using grids found from modern day living.
This work incorporates willow and wire and has produced an intricate design on each of the elements. I found it interesting that her work often combines similar but different elements which all work together to make a complete piece.
Denise Lach
Denise Lach is a French calligrapher who teaches at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland. Her use of letters and words to make patterns, designs and works of art holds an on going interest for me. Her books are full of ideas for design and use very simple tools and materials so making the process accessible. She also works with screen printing and some sculptural works. She says, "The weaving of words and the resulting textures fascinate me."
Her work fits in well with the lettering research and lettering design chapters of the module and I referred to her book several times during this module. I like this work where the letters change shape and size, from controlled to uncontrolled.
Another aspect of her work is how she uses text to represent or recreate textures and shapes found in nature. This is an interesting and absorbing was to achieve designs from things easily found nearby. I could revisit some of my mud patterns to extend my designs in this way.
By altering the shape and size of the lettering and by filling some shapes formed many different textures appear. She sometimes adds colour to her work but most often uses black and white. Although she uses traditional calligraphy pens and tools, she also uses home made pens such as cola pens.
I was introduced to Denise Lach by Shelley Rhodes at summer school. Shelley is another textile artist who often uses text in her work and we worked through several text exercises. I used some of these ideas in one of my sample fold books.
No comments:
Post a Comment