house of beasts . . . .

On Friday afternoon I escaped the stuffy hot studio for a research trip with tailor Kate Millbank.  Kate and I are gathering inspiration galore for a collaborative project we are embarking on and I shall be talking more about this over the coming months.  We headed out to Attingham Park, a National Trust property just outside Shrewsbury.      The house and grounds are currently hosting a contemporary art exhibition called House of Beasts, which has been organised by Meadow Arts.  Seamlessly integrated into the rooms are wonderful macabre installations, illustrations and animations.  I'm slightly in love with the whole exhibition but my favourite piece was by Alastair Mackie. 

"The owl, having swallowed its prey whole, slowly digests the nourishing, softer parts.  It then regurgitates the indigestible bones, feathers and fur in the form of a pellet.  To create his sculpture Alastair Mackie extracts mouse skulls from the pellets. with meticulous craftsmanship turns this natural product into an object of fascination, beauty and scientific curiosity.  A hint of the initial violence lingers in the fragility of his work."

words from exhibition catalogue

Alastair Mackie - Untitled (Sphere)

image from here

thoroughly modern wool . . . .

One of the highlights of my London visit was the Wool Modern exhibition on Pall Mall.  The show displayed a really interesting mix of fashion and interior products from designers such as Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood.  I was also really pleased to see the stunning work of Claire-Anne O'Brien who graduated from the RCA last year with me.  The show is up for another couple of days so catch it if you can.

Alexander McQueen

Giles Deacon

Claire-Anne O'Brien

Images from google and Claire-Annes website.

Origin highlights . . . .

On Friday I was down in London to check out all the delights of the design festival.  First stop was Origin, The Contemporary Craft Fair, where I got to catch up with familiar faces and make some new discoveries as well.  My favourite stand in the show was definitely Abigail Browns, who creates beautiful stitched birds.  Here are a few examples of her work, but take a look at her website for her full range of feathered friends.

Abigail Brown

Abigail Brown

I also really loved the retro look of James & Tilla Walters ceramics.

James & Tilla Walters

James & Tilla Walters

Also great to see the work of fellow Hothousers Emma Bradbury and Jasmin Giles, as well as my old bosses Wallace Sewell and Margo Selby.

experiments in flax . . .

Here's some images of the three leno panels that I made on the collaborative warp with Zoe Acketts Textiles.  The pieces were on show at the fantastic old flax mill in Shrewsbury a couple of weeks ago.

Hotstuff . . .

I am delighted to officially be able to announce that I am part of the Crafts Council UKs Hothouse 2011.  Hothouse provides emerging makers (those defined as being within two years of setting up a practice) with a programme of focussed, intensive business skills and creative development, complimented with 1:1 support over a six month period.  I met everyone last week at the Design Council in London.  It looks like its going to be an exciting few months ahead.  We now have a facebook page so please 'like' us to see what we are up to. Check out the rest of the makers: Amy Bear, Aimee Betts, Eleanor Bolton, Emma Bradbury, Kevin Brook, Hannah Felicity Dennis, Jane Dzisiewski, Amelia Fever, Lucy Jane Foakes, Helen Foot, Jasmin Giles, Anna Glasbrook, Mahtab Hanna, Zehava Hashai-Spellman, Tortie Hoare, Anna Collette Hunt, Zoe Lloyd, Hanna Nielsen, Elizabeth Peers, Carly Petit-Taylor, Helen Smith, Rhian Solomon, Thorody, Ellen Thomas, Victoria Walker, Sarah Warsop andJanice Zethraeus.

two become one . . . .

What happens when two weavers make two warps to make one cloth? . . .

This warp was a collaboration between Zoe Acketts and myself.  I shall post images of the woven cloth next week.

be there or be . . .

Tuesday night saw the opening of a new exhibition at Birmingham's Fotofilia Gallery.  The images have all been featured in Square Magazine, the only magazine which is dedicated entirely to the promotion of square format photography.  Some of my favourite images in the show where by Phil Bebbington, so here is a selection of his work for you . .

The exhibition runs until the 1st October.  The magazine is published on-line and comes out quarterly, click here to read latest issue of square. Images from http://philbebbington.com