Palette Pin: Purple and Pink and Blue

I love how even the black areas in the palette look dark blue, 

or is it the other way round? 

 

Zooming out to give you a wonderful view of the print on this fabric

The touches of peach work alongside the pinks is

one of my favourite things about this fabric.

.

Blue skies, rain and denim

Then orange, then pink, so denim splurge.

John Lewis Edition (unknown)

Marie Claire. January 2011, pp. unknown

Embroidery on denim too is something that really fascinates me at the moment, 

some of my own embroidery below:

Testing out watercolour brush in MS Paint - nice texture, really irritating point/beginning of it though. If it was a gimp moving brush maybe that would be better? Blues abundance. 

John Lewis Edition Spring 2014/2013, pp. unknown

References:

John Lewis Edition. Spring 2013/2014, pp. unknown

Marie Claire. Spring/Summer 2013, pp. unknown

Blue masks, dots and diamonds

A fabric piece that I am working with at the minute, patching it with white pieces of similarly stretchy fabric to create larger pieces, originally an old trouser kindly donated.

 

The pattern looks quite aggressive up close. Like masks all bunched together to scare off irritating people? Brilliant range of blues on the fabric that are hard to capture using a scanner or camera. Quite pretty with the lilac bit of paint I dropped on the corner. 

(Artist) Tracy Emin: Respect

This is quite a personal post and well overdue.
I was thinking about how respecting a person doesn't automatically mean you then like or agree with everything they do or say.
Tracey Emin would be a great example of this thought trail, whilst as an artist I think she has done so much good in terms of exposing textiles, fabric and the workings of stitch to the public as something equal to paint or sculpture using old school materials like plaster - that in fact stitch and thread are about as old school as you can get. She also has an interesting way of drawing that is loose and sketchy with a genuinely warm perspective and style. Delicate still.  

2012

Olympics and Paralympics Poster
(House to Home, 2013)

I actually found myself with mixed feelings. I liked the poster for its simplicity, it was brave and unlike the other posters it seemed much more personal and like a small note on a scrap bit of paper - yet more treasurable. Breaking boundaries; who says a poster needs to be an explosion of colour and images and an assault to the senses?
However it was very plain, there seems to be no fanfare in it - no amazing triumph or sense of...well power and endurance and strength. Though looking at the image there is a kind of strength to it's grace of image. Also, comparing to the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics (wow has it been that long ago?), where is the colour in this poster? Also lacking in anything sports related except the logo. But again I can refer to my above point, who says a poster needs to be a graphics montage or drawing that hurls itself at the eyes and is painfully loud.  

Emin is one gutsy artist, and honestly if someone who really dislikes her work was to say anything about her it would be that she is strange, or prevalent, that her works refuse to be snuffed out quietly. Tracy Emin will not be cautious or careful. I find her work at times to be far too personal, a scrutiny of her life that is too close to even the sad or gruesome tales. She seems to be like a ship, going form one storm to the next.
But, I admire her in spite of this, for being bold and ballsy, being so personal with her work. She is an honest artist, she doesn't say 'well no this didn't effect me', but revels in the fact that the work is her and her experiences. She actually narrates her story through art. Could her work be seen as a literal self biography? The un made bed? The blankets and the tent? Yes, of course.
Melanie McGrath's essay (2013) regarding the artist, also relates or creates an analogy of Emin's work being like text, like you're reading something as if it were a set of letters making coherent words and phrases, looking at materials she uses and shapes she creates or ideas Emin plays with.  

What is the point of making art unless it confronts or explores something? It can't be just for visual kicks, because now you can get that from the internet, from pinterest, facebook, online newspapers and, well, any where.  

So yes, I respect Tracey Emin as an artist, even as a person, because in the end she presents herself with honesty. She doesn't hide away and pretend to be what she isn't. It helps that she's rich, her exhibitions reviewed and that she is continuing in her practice, but not that much really.  




References:
Cumming, L. (2011) 'Tracey Emin: Love is What Your Want - review', the Guardian, 22nd May (Online) Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/may/22/tracey-emin-love-hayward-review (Accessed: 5th October 2013).

Dorment, R. (2011) 'Tracey Emin: Love Is What You Want, Hayward Gallery, review', The Telegraph, 16th May. (Online) Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-reviews/8517013/Tracey-Emin-Love-Is-What-You-Want-Hayward-Gallery-review.html (Accessed 5th October 2013).
McGrath. M. (2013) 'Few Artists are Subjected to Fierce Public Scritiny in the British Tabloids Like Tracey Emin. But Is She A Great Artist?', Tate Magazine, no. 1. (Online) Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/somethings-wrong-tracey-emin (Accessed: 21st October 2013).

House to Home (2013) 'London Olympics 2012 - 10 of the best home accessories', housetohome.co.uk. (Online) Available at: http://www.housetohome.co.uk/product-idea/picture/london-olympics-2012-10-of-the-best-home-accessories/4 (Accessed: 11th November 2013).

Floral lace scans in b&w

Some lace scans. Originally the lace came form a t-shirt like top I bought from a charity shop in town. The floral pattern on the top can be found on a previous post titled Chintz roses; odd colours of pink, red and purple-blue.

I haven't yet got a chance to use these pieces in any painting or work, but I used the rose print top part in my degree show exhibition as an appropriation of the typical floral patterns now commonly seen on the streetwalk and catwalk. A pattern that has been brought back out of the cupboards and dusted off, then given a pat down with modernisation - as has lace or lace imitation fabrics of course.

Thinking of doing a lace feature of prints/scans/photos for September.

So please by all means send in photos/scans of lace or bits of lace form anything via e-mail to patternandsurface@gmail.com  

 

Black, yellow and flowers

I've recently been going through my sack of textile remnants and pieces and have found that these pieces in particular seem quite odd. Normally I tend to stay clear of black or really dark colours, seeing them as tones or colours to be wary of - as if they are predators. But here I utilised them in a scheme to create interesting contrasts between dullish but bright yellows and creams and the dark blues and blacks of the fabric backgrounds - even taking pieces of suit trousers (worn out) to add to the long rectangular piece.  

A fabric piece I have already blogged about here. It is one of my favourite pieces just because of the way the print is, colours used and the way it tiles in places - where the error of the overlap of the pattern/tile makes the piece all the more memorable. 

White wool and golden thread

Scarf made of white wool knit and golden glitter thread.

The patterns on it consist of wavy lines and almost like drawings.
The overall effect is lace like,
taking inspiration from the revival of lace and netting on clothing.

The popularity of wool throughout the autumn and winter has been really important in getting me to see this material in a contemporary light. Mixing coloured wools with glittering threads and beautifully designed knits has been a key textile popular trend.  

My first white woollen scarf in years.
A birthday present that is still in pretty good nick.

Paul Steiger, Curtain fabric

I found these curtains at a charity shop in town, bought and paid for them and used them in a piece of textiles I've been working on. Yup, I was surprised that it was made in the UK too.   

It's a beautiful heavy lace fabric with a good thick curtain lining and a nice creamy colour to it.

And underneath I was messing about with underlayering it with black and white striped fabric.  

Yay - its september! :D
I'm trying out some new layouts.
Hopefully I'll find something to stick to.

Brown and pink and all things pretty

Cut offs from an old kurta
(basicly a tunic top with a mandarin collar).

The deep pink colour can't really be seen here for one of 2 reasons:
1) my camera isn't as good as eyes at picking up colour
2) an incompetent photographer.
Take your pick. :D

The detail on the neckline area spills out onto the chest area.
The use of beads and pretty gold disks and
the chain like stich embroidery speaks for itself.

A closeup of these cicle disks shows they ae detailed with lines,
so far I haven't found any other fabric adorned this way.

The golden brown beads imbedded
amonst the very fine chain stich

Chain stich how to

Aztec like Patterns (plus a bit of shiny)

You can't really see the shiny, but trust me,
the material has silver thread running up the pattern.
Click on the images for a closer look.

I googled 'Aztec patterns'
and found various images.
The Aztecs were tribes of people in central Mexico,
their culture a colourful one.

The traditional Aztec patterns,
as found on artifacts and surviving works
show patterns that are angular,
straight backed and not very often curved.
No doubt these patterns would
translate into pixel art very well.  

Silhouettes and grey

And yes,
I know I can't spell,
but I got in the end...
well spell check did.

This fabric is quite thin and translucent so I doubled it,
so that one side would slightly show, very faintly like ghostly motifs

The flowers are roses (I think).

Grey, is a TONE people.
A beautiful tone though, it comes in all sorts of shades
and goes with any colour.

Tulips in Summer

Tulips are the most - well one of the flowers
up there with sunflowers, they just make people smile
(I reserve the right to use my opinions as facts on this blog :D)

The colours looked amazing on this,
sadly I only had a snippet of the fabric to photograph -
just imagine how it looks as a piece of clothing!

I planted tulips months ago...and only one grew T_T
(it was soo pretty though). 

Mirrors, reflection and...SHINEY!

I love photos of threads - yes...seriously,
better then photos of bunnies
(mostly as bunnies are very camera shy).

The thread used in the embroidery seems entwined
with strands of silver reflective colouring - beautiful.
Not forgetting its shiny, SHINY!
(Oh give me a break, I'm a magpie XD)

Alongside the flower and stem embroidery
are little paper thin circular mirrors. More reflection.

The fabric itself has a lovely texture and

is beautiful in this aqua like colour,

with more then a little hint of green.

Denim: Quilted Arcs

These photos are of jeans which were delightfully
detailed on the pockets areas with these quilted arcs.

The inner of the arc a faded blue surrounded by
dark blue stitching and a pale mid blue colouring of the rest of the denim.

I love the little details found on denim, the stressing where
colour is purposefully or accidentally worn away.

Two great blog entries on Denim and its un-environmentally friendly nature:
How Wearing Denim Jeans Hurts the Environment (Part 1)
How to Keep the Denim - But Hurt the Environment Less (Part 2)

Flowers in brown on black

Its amazing how well these dull colours work within the flower shapes, creating a sense of life without so much as a single addition of something bright and bold.
The print itself make a good use of small shapes that build up to create natural organic motifs.

Rainbow marks and Flowers

So here are some old photos of those rainbow stain like things on the road near university. I read up on this a little, these things happens when oil on the road and the rain/water mixes with it on the road, this explains why you only see them on wet days.

 The flower photographs are badly shot, even for me.

Bows and ribbon like

Shimery and tiny and many

I don't mean glitter by the title.

I scanned this piece of fabric after finding I didn't have the time to take a decent photo and upload it - though I may do this so that its colour can be seen. In case your curious the colour is originally like a Cadbury purple with these golden shimmery motifs

Paisley and borders and leaves alongside no2

Another snippet form the fabric piece I scanned up yesterday, this time the pattern is more together and closely placed to each motif and layered. Again using the strict palette of dark dull yellow and cyan/blue. Uses paisley designs in it as well as border designs I have already posted in the previous post.

Paisley and borders and leaves alongside

Found fabrics nearly always have amazing amasses of patterns and motifs, the fabrics that are transluscent are often even more decorative, often used as scarves or dubattas and so will enable the creator to create more elaborative designs all over, as parts may or may not be seen depednign on how and where tied/knotted or wrapped around the hair etc. 

I picked out these patterns form a scrap piece of fabric, they use traditional motifs like paisley designs (which sound British but look Indian - weird) and almost Mosque like border designs.