The Textile Artist: Sculptural Textile Art: A practical guide to mixed media wire sculpture

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Her material pallet remained similar to that of her MA collections, combining polyester and elastic yarns to accommodate colour play with the heat press (synthetic fibres are required for colour adhesion when using a heat press for sublimation printing). The elastic facilitates stretch and recovery in her fabrics. Within her more recent work Yu-Mei has also introduced monofilament to explore transparency and illusion within her knitted structures. For many centuries, art meant the mastery over a particular, skill, style, or discipline but this changed in the 19 th century when the term began to be associated with something that was intended for display but did not necessarily have a practical use. Consequently, the definition of textile art is also fluid - initially inseparable from the practical uses of textiles in dress and home comfort - more recent examples of textile art do not always have a direct function. In a historical context, it is also difficult to separate the learned craft and skills associated with the manufacture of textile art from the art of its design and execution, particularly given that the people, usually women, associated with making and designing historic, domestic textile art are rarely recorded.

Mary Lee Bendolph is a prominent member of the Gee's Bend Collective located in Alabama, in a small town of the same name. Her work utilizes the historical quilting techniques and knowledge from the female members of her family to create mesmerizing works of art. Traditional quilts usually feature the symmetrical repetition of a small number of shapes, but Bendolph pushes the aesthetic limits of the practice with bold colors, asymmetrical patterns, and unexpected fabrics. Amanda first adapted previous works and tested different shapes using radial stitch patterns. Scale and movement were also tested by hanging pieces from her studio ceiling. She then shared sketches and photos of her tests with the Centre MATERIA gallery in Quebec City where the work would be exhibited. After much discussion, she returned to her studio to start fabricating the embroideries. The artist was born in 1911 in Paris, France. Her parents owned a workshop for restoring antique tapestries, so Bourgeois had first-hand experience in textile work even though she at first went to study mathematics at the Sorbonne. By 1938, she had finished her education in art and opened her own gallery in Paris. The same year, she met her lifelong partner, art historian Robert Goldwater, and moved with him to New York, where her art career would continue to thrive. Priscilla has over 20 years of teaching experience working in Higher Education, lecturing in several Fashion and Textile Departments including the University of Salford and University of Cumbria. She currently tutors for the University of Creative Arts, and runs independent workshops for textile groups, schools, colleges and universities. Priscilla also works closely with a Cumbria-based charity, Kendal Windows on Art and has been involved in many of their community engagement projects over the past 15 years.

George Weil (Fibrecrafts)

Found items form a tangible link to the place that they came from. By working with found objects and gathered materials, I’m able to create something that forms a personal record of the place these items are connected to. I especially love sea creatures, they are artwork by themselves, and I’m always blown away by their beauty. Whenever I have the opportunity, I enjoy watching documentary films about the deep ocean. I'm constantly amazed by creatures that I’ve never seen before. There are so many creatures that we haven’t discovered yet. The ocean is full of mysteries. As Bryony Jennings tells her students, don’t cling to the rules of stitching when creating something in 3D. Experiment with shapes and forms, and don’t be too precious about your materials. Though Ahmed works in painting, video, and installation art, the Azerbaijani artist is most known for his fantastical carpets and embroideries. In these works, he playfully riffs on traditional weaving patterns, creating new rugs (though sometimes ripping apart old ones) that feature optical illusions, acid drips, and pixelated glitches. Ahmed’s process begins on the computer, where he uses Photoshop to create these psychedelic distortions. He then prints the design to-scale on paper before handing it off to a team of 20 to 25 weavers.

There are moments within your process that you say are “breathtaking,” and you choose to expand on them at that point. Can you talk a little more about that?Think you might like to experiment with textile sculptures? Go for it! Here are some tips that can help you start your journey into 3D. Alice Fox: Found objects often form a starting point for my work. These might be gathered on walks in my local area or further afield.

Creative identity is an ever-evolving, abstract concept that can and should be adapted to new challenges and briefs. Varied experience is key, and potential employers and collaborators should celebrate the varied lenses through which new artists and designers view their briefs and roles. After all, it is this kind of adaptive learning and making with transferable knowledge that fuels innovation and swerves away from tradition towards proactive problem solving.

What is felting?

My work is intimately linked with my allotment plot. Here, I have been exploring the variety of found, grown and gathered materials for several years. This ongoing exploration was initially the basis of my practice-based research for an MA degree, and it continues to form the focus of my current practice. This is very typical for me, as I’m always thinking about the experience people have when seeing my work. I want my art to offer both a visual and tactile interactive experience.’ Fabric is one of the most familiar of everyday materials. Even though the word “fabric” sounds straightforward enough, the range of different fabrics is broad, with unique characteristics that can draw out a variety of sensations or emotions. Some fabrics imply the cool feeling of moisture, others have a fluffiness that is comforting; there are fabrics that invoke the mysterious or the ethereal; there are fabrics that inspire tranquility; and some fabrics suggest fragility, subtlety, etc. When considering why fabric was an attractive medium to the artists, Professor Peter Jelavich stated: "Christo and Jeanne-Claude claimed that textiles marked the beginning of civilization; agriculture and weaving stood at the dawn of human history. They also contended that fabrics evoke transience, like the tents of nomadic tribes." The extensive history and ephemeral quality of fabric enticed the artists; it would wear and deteriorate over the installation period, and eventually be permanently removed, but it would have a lasting historical impact.

Benjamin wanted to be a part of the gallery’s creative use of materials, and the gallery owner was excited about Benjamin’s work as well. Inspired by the gallery’s name, Benjamin sought to create a work emphasising texture, hands and touch. He researched a variety of hand poses that evoked a sense of gentleness, calm and contemplation. But he ultimately chose an image of his grandmother’s hands to conjure a sense of thought and remembrance. To attach the cord to the trowel, I need an anchor point. I use a pillar drill to make a row of holes around the edge of the metal trowel. This gives me the starting point for attaching the cordage to the object. During this time, the publication CACAO Magazine reached out to Yu-Mei, offering the opportunity to contribute to a collaboration with Coca-Cola. Her brief was to capture the ‘Real Magic’ of everyday life in some way- a challenging concept given the restrictions on everyday life at this time. However, Yu-Mei’s unique idea went on to inspire an exciting body of knitted fabrics, captured within the photography for the campaign. Photographer: Poyen ChenWhen I was in junior high school I decided to become an artist, so I went to a high school which offered a fine art major. There I learned about art in general, such as painting, sculpture, design, and art history. I really had a great time, and then I went to an art college after that. So, I was determined to become an artist at an early age. Great ideas often come to me, but thinking about ideas in your head and working with actual materials are very different experiences. I make a lot of discoveries while working on pieces that I never could have thought of in advance. The starting point for this piece, Hybrid 2, was a group of old tools found in the shed on my allotment when I first took over the plot. Sumptuary laws were pieces of legislation which prohibited the wearing of certain fabrics, colors, or styles usually by people below a certain social position. For instance, in the late-Medieval period, European sumptuary laws prevented wealthy middle-class merchants from imitating the dress of the aristocracy by stopping them from wearing satin brocade, cloth-of-gold or certain types of fur. It was believed that if the middle-classes could be mistaken for the ruling elite through their use of textiles, then the power of the rulers could be delegitimized.