Diana Orving

 

Diana Orving is a Swedish artist who has worked in fashion and costume, her practice now is focused primarily with textile sculptures and paintings. Diana's work explores themes of origin, memory, and the subconscious. Orving's creative process is characterised by a dynamic interplay between techniques, materials, and formats, encompassing textile sculptures, paintings, and costume design. By examining the relationship between the tactile and the visual, as well as the interaction between body and space, her work delves into the intersection of emotion and thought. Her practice is guided by a deep sensitivity to form, material, and movement, imbuing her pieces with a striking presence.

Sumakshi Singh

 

This is the incredible work of Sumakshi Singh “Monuments,” is a life-size reinterpretation of a historic column from Delhi’s 12th-century Qutab Minar complex, crafted entirely from copper zari and nylon thread, using traditional Indian embroidery, braiding, and lacemaking techniques.

Daniela Mikulášková

 

Daniela Mikulášková is a Czech artist from Brno who uses thread instead of paint to create her abstract compositions. 

Raija Jokinen

 

Finnish textile artist Raija Jokinen uses flax and hand and machine embroidery to create fascinating pieces based on the human body, visualising our connection and part in the natural world.

Shradha Kochhar

 

Shradha Kochhar sculpts and draws with textiles. I love and am therefore featuring her sheer compositions for their scale, delicacy and the light play that they cause. 

Teresa Byszewska

 Surreal textile collage portraits by Polish Graphic designer Teresa Byszewska (1929-2018) who died just 2 months ago at the age of 99.

In 1950 Teresa commenced her studies at the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts initially in the studio of Henryk Tomaszewski, and then Józef Mroszczak until 1956. On graduating she worked designing film posters and illustrations for children She also collaborated with Jan Lenica in creating animated films.

Teresa Byszewska from daniel bird on Vimeo.

Later she specialised in her textile portraits. In the 1980's she then turned her focus to drawing and frottage taking rubbings from her textile work.

Kathryn Harmer

'Falling into flight' in various fabrics, thread by multimedia artist Kathryn Harmer

Gina Adams

Gina Adams has created a simply stunning portfolio of  'Broken Treaty Quilts', highlighting the deception and violence used to marginalize Native Americans in the formation of the US. These are powerful textile testaments of lies and treachery.

"I am fascinated by stories passed down, both from my own familiar heritage and those told by others. I believe that the passing down of memories what keeps our genetic heritage alive. I am interested in and seek out others who have a similar story to tell and I immerse myself in their shadows. I do so in order to tell my story more clearly, and doing so also helps to clarify what I want the work to say visually. There is a connection to what the ancient ones taught my ancestors, as this information was passed down generation to generation. I consider my work and its process to be a spiritual endeavor, and the process of making to be a ritual component . I decided to learn how to make objects in order to have a better understanding of who my ancestors were and how perhaps I am similar to them. The process of making gives me an identity and an ancestral connection. In this I feel that I have been creating work that recontextualizes the sense of the sacred and the ritual object. In storytelling I am moved by a sense of discovery and connection, and much of it is also deeply connected and rooted in place and land. My life's journey is about where the land, peoples, and stories come together. It is my wish that the viewer will bring their own experience when viewing my work. Thank you for taking the time for your own discovery as it brings meaning to the day." Gina Adams 

Above: Treaty of the Six Nations, Broken Treaty Quilt
Below: The Osage Treaty 1809 Broken Treaty Quilt

Below: Treaty of Middlebury Plantation 1677 Broken Treaty Quilt 

Below: The Royal Proclamation of Canada Broken Treaty Quilt

Marian Bijlenga

I have been fascinated and inspired by the work of  Dutch artist Marian Bijlenga for sometime.

Marian Bijlenga creates installations and wall sculptures from delicately worked elements of horse hair, viscose, paper, glass and fish scales. She studied at the Rietveld Art Academy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her work is like flight maps of birds or organisms under the microscope, detailed, magical and organic.

“I am fascinated by dots, lines and contours, by their rhythmical movements but also by the empty space they confine. Instead of drawing on paper, I draw in space by using textile as a material. I work with thread, fabric and horsehair, materials that are soft, light, flexible and open to endless development. The suppleness of textiles gives me the greatest possible freedom to achieve my goal: the discovery of new forms.

Be guided by what happens around you. Don’t try too hard to direct, plan, master everything. For me, it is more important to be led by what crosses your path, the accidental encounter, things that happen outside yourself. Marian Bijlenga

Catherine O'Leary

 I love these felt works by Australian artist Catherine O'Leary they remind me of fungi in particular a Bridal Veil Stinkhorn.

Often I find this with hand crafted felt garments they have a very organic look texture and shape. The layering of black and white in Catherine's garment is very startling and the broken net of a silhouette is stunning.

Tasha Lewis

Tasha Lewis worked primarily as a photographer, but then began developing her work into 3 dimensions by applying printed cyanotype cloth onto sculpted armatures, creating haunting and surprising works.