- Write some notes on how you think the work of the textile artist differs from that of the designer, the designer-maker or the craftsperson?
Designer - a person who devises and executes designs, as for works of art, clothes, machines etc. A designer is employed to work to a brief and has to have knowledge of current trends in the marketplace.
Designer-maker - textile designer makers can make items for the home, lifestyle and fashion industry. Some cover more than one discipline. A designer-maker will be involved in the making up of items as well as the designing aspect but can sometimes decide to employ third parties to make up an item from the designer's brief. Some designer-makers will make an individual piece or mass produced items.
Craftperson - an artisan. Someone whose job requires skills with their hands.
A craftperson will design and make their items solely themselves and will not involve a third party in their craft. A craftperson can be described as someone who does their craft be it knitting, sewing or woodwork as a hobby but can also be described as a person who has great skill in their craft and often works in their own studio selling their work. Whether a craftperson does their craft as a hobby or it is their livelihood both take great pride in their work.
A textile artist differs from the designer, designer-maker and craftsperson in that they design, make their work to be exhibited in a private gallery or public space. Their work can be for practical or decorative use. Some use their work to try to bring social issues to the forefront.
- Is there any crossover in terms of approach or the way in which each uses ideas or textile processes?
I think there is a certain crossing over in terms of approach in the way each use their ideas or textile processes. All use their inspiration to design and make items using their individual craft. Many do the same craft and textile artists also sell their work. I think the end product is is a piece of art in its own right whether mass produced or an individual piece to exhibit.
- Choose two internationally known textile artists whose work is particularly inspiring.
For this section of the research the two textile artists that I find particularly inspiring are Jan Beaney and Cas Holmes.
Jan Beaney
Jan Beaney has been a designer, tutor and author. She teaches and exhibits in the UK and has taught in USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. She is a member of the 62 Group being their longest serving member and has been given honorary membership. In 1997 with Jean Littlejohn she set Double Trouble to promote further interest in embroidery. Together they have published many booklets and books showcasing their work and to inspire others to enter the world of creative embroidery.
Jan Beaney's work has mainly been based around landscapes. Local fields have inspired a series of work for her called 'Five Minutes from Home'. To create her work she uses machine and hand stitching on water soluble fabric. These pieces are then added to with more stitching and beads.
I was first introduced to Jan Beaney's work when I was completing a City and Guilds Embroidery course. Two of the books recommended to us were The Art of the Needle and the Complete Guide to Creative Embroidery. Later I attended one of Jan Beaney's workshops. We worked on small samples of layering threads and snippets of fabric using bondaweb and bonding powder. These were then worked into with hand and machine embroidery. I think this technique has influenced a lot of my work. At the workshop we were shown Jan's samples that had been photographed for her latest book Stitch Magic that she had written with Jean Littlejohn. I remember it being so nice to see and handle these pieces of work with their exquisite, tactile surfaces.
https://www.softexpressions.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/bkN/TaleTwoStch2.jpg
Cas Holmes
Cas Holmes trained in painting and photography. She studied paper and textiles in Japan and India. She has worked as a community artist and teacher for many years and has exhibited at a national and international level. She has also written books. Connected Cloth Creating Collaborative Textile Projects - this book was written in collaboration with Anne Kelly who is an artist, tutor and author in the UK. The Found Object in Textile Art.
Her work has included the use of small pieces of textiles, paper and teabags. She uses re-cycled and found materials. The difference between re-cycled materials as opposed to found materials is that the found materials often remain the same when being used in a piece of work. Using textiles and mixed media she creates collages. Materials are torn, cut and create translucent layers.
In her statement she says I continue to develop my techniques, drawing and use of colour remain the foundation for all my work. The fragments of found materials are layered and mark the passing of time, the rituals of making (drawing, cutting, gathering materials, machining, sewing) acting as part of the narrative of the work.
I find Cas Holmes's work inspiring because I like many aspects of it. I like the fact that she uses re-cycled and found objects in her work. Also her work as a delicate quality that I like because of the translucent layers that she creates and the colours used because they have a subdued look that I like. Mostly I like the stitching in her work that she describes as stitch sketching.
http://www.textilearts.net/members/casholmes/imgs/remnants.jpg
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6058/6271660061_638406b5b0_m.jpg
- How do you view textile art? Do you think about it in the same way that you would look at a painting or a piece of sculpture? How far do you feel it has been accepted as a medium for fine art by the fine art establishment?
I think that especially since I have been working through this course and it is teaching me to look at things in a different way I would look at textiles as I do a painting or a piece of sculpture. I have always admired the work of textiles artists and now looking more closely at their work and the work of artists who paint I think the inspiration and thought processes are the same although the end result is worked in a different media.
I do agree that textile art has for a long time been classed as a 'poor relation' amongst art and not being taken seriously as art against paintings and sculpture. However more galleries are exhibiting textile work. I think that because some pieces have embroidery in them they are not treated seriously because people still think of embroidery as a pastime and not as an art. Hopefully as more galleries are willing to exhibit textile work this will change.
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