The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair - Unit X
Being an invigilator and visiting the Private View of the craft fair was a great experience for me to see a range of different mediums in a business setting. I was particularly interested in some of the work that involved textiles, ceramics and mixed media as this is where my work is going towards.
I talked to Carolyn Sara who is a knitwear designer who uses bright colours and geometric patterns within her knitwear. When asking her about her inspiration for her surface designs, she talked about how she really likes the repetition of geometric patterns and how that heavily influenced her work. It interested me how the use of repetition within her work reminded me of some of the research I had done into tiles for the beta project and how this had influenced
I also really liked the patterns on the knitwear at Cotswold Knit. The intricacy as well as the feel of the material made me think about how I can use colourwork stitches within my work and I would like to research into different techniques of how to use that.
I also talked to an artist called Narissa Cargill Thompson, her work is embroidery that goes over into concrete that has been cast in rubbish. I really liked how she had created this process for herself and the story behind her work. The concrete had picked up small details from the coffee cups or bottles and she highlighted this while we were talking.
When asking different textile makers about their materials I learnt about how materials are part of different makers process. One textile artist talked about her use of seaweed yarn and how the feel of that impacted her work positively, while another maker talked about how finding found objects around beaches in Scotland connects her to the materials. This has prompted me to think about the importance of the different materials I will use or am using right now.
While invigilating, I pointed the visitors towards the exhibition, and talked about the variety of materials and samples that were on show. Some visitors asked about the course or was interested in what work I do and I was able to talk a little bit about what I do. I could hear in my voice how excited I was to talk about what I'm doing at university but I've realised I need a clear explanation of my work in order to introduce it to others in the future. When I went around the fair, some artists described their work for what it is e.g. knitwear or mixed media, and some described themselves as ceramicists or artists. In this setting labels were important, but for some of the work itself it gave me all the explanation i needed without having to see the name and/or profession of the maker.
Competitions Research - Unit X
I looked into different competitions including ceramic, textiles and art competitions that I could potentially apply to.
Fairfield Mill Textile Competition – Celebrating Wool
This competition is about celebrating wool and/or its heritage within Britain. The competition calls for at least 75% textiles which is something I would need to measure when applying a piece. I would potentially use wool instead of cotton within the casting, however, I would make sure that I use wool as the fibre I would knit with when creating knitted textile. The application is digital so the physical work is not necessary unless I get through to the final round of applications.
Fairfield Mill is a wool mill that has been converted into a space for artists. There are a range of artists that sell their work and run workshops there with a range of crafts on show. There is also a gallery that hosts different exhibitions throughout the year.
Cor Unum - Peace of Mind
The theme for Cor Unum is Peace of Mind and how the applicant keeps their peace of mind when there is so much going on around them in the state of the world. For me, knitting is how I keep calm and clear my mind so I feel like this goes hand in hand for me. However, I do feel like my work will need to relate to the theme a little bit more than that. I would also have to keep the work to only porcelain or stoneware or have it reproducible within that medium.
Cor Unum is a ceramic studio in the Netherlands that celebrates a range of ceramicists both nationally and internationally. They sell a range of ceramics from their own studio and across other stores worldwide. They want to keep the heritage of ceramics going and pass on the knowledge across generations.
The Festival of Quilts - The Fine Art Textile Award
The Fine Art Textile Award is open to a range of textile techniques, as long as the applicants piece is rooted in fine art. The competition is bi annual and will open in early 2025, meaning that this could be a competition that I apply to during the Synthesis and Resolution unit. There doesn't seem to be any other requirements on the website to do with themes, but this could come up when applications open.
The Festival of Quilts ran one of the galleries at the Knitting and Stitching show that I visited in October. The work on display was a range of quilts and the work was of a high standard. Although quilting is a big part of their organisation, this competition is open to all textile art and the aim is to appreciate textile art as fine art.
Community Clothing Project - Collaboration
I was part of the Community Clothing Project in partnership with the Design for Planet festival. The project was to create a set of banners that reflected sustainability in relation to the Community Clothing brand as well as sustainability goals, for example the UN Sustainability Goals. My group and I decided to look into sustainability when it comes to the ocean. As Community Clothing is mindful of using natural fibres, this contributes to less microplastics and synthetic waste being put back into the sea whether that is from water waste or from landfill. The banner we designed showed fish wearing wearing Community Clothing jeans and the aim was to show how sustainable fibres can be better for underwater life. Over four weeks, we collated ideas, created a design, cut material to place on the banner, and tack the material on. I believe the banner was successful, and that was due to the willingness of everyone in the group to listen to ideas but to also communicate when we weren't sure and make decisions together. Although this wasn't related directly to my practice, I believe the project was a great way to work with a new medium, while also collaborating with other students across disciplines.
MSOA Article: https://www.art.mmu.ac.uk/news/item-8364141/
New Brewery Arts Young Makers Exhibition - Application
I applied for the New Brewery Arts Young Makers Exhibition. I applied as this was for an art gallery setting which fits with the textile art context I would like my work to sit in. Within my application I had to consolidate my practice and I wrote about how I explore the relationship between hard and soft. I also showed the edited photos below tp give an idea about my practice. Final pieces were not compulsory and as I didn't have any finished pieces by the deadline (1st December) I showed a lot of my fired work instead (photos below)
