Fashion & Textile Lab, Carmarthen School of Art @ Coleg Sir Gar

Rita Parniczky

 

-Ray Vault I, detail with sunlight, 2014, medum: nylon monofilament, rayon and iridescent threads, 155 x 68cm


Rita Parniczky is an exceptional weaver, who has developed an extraordinarily unique aesthetic and technique, that I'm pretty sure I've never seen before...... the holy grail for all creatives.

Entitled The X-Ray Series, Rita hand-weaves exquisite panels whereby warp threads distort and undulate from their expected vertical, linear path.  These poetic structures are emphasised by the choice of rayon, monofilament, and sometimes other metallic yarns.  Whilst they are wonderful to examine in any setting, they truly come alive when they interact with light, whether it be natural or artificial.

Rita rightly has an ever-growing list of accolades for this body of work, the latest being the prestigious Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon which will be celebrated by a forthcoming solo exhibition at Contemporary Applied Arts, opening on June 24th 2016.

Rita is based at the brilliant Cockpit Arts Holburn studios, where she has received invaluable business support and mentoring from their in house advisors.  You can read a fantastic article about her story, and how she's been supported by Cockpit Arts here

And to conclude, a quote from the wonderful Richard Humphries

`In woven textile design most of what is seen has already been made before. But just once or twice in a generation there is a designer who immediately you can recognise as a person who has the loom craft, the inspiration, and the courage to push the boundaries of weave to a new and innovative level. Rita Parniczky is that talented exceptional designer who combines the meticulous attention to the detail and originality, which is revealed in her perfection on the loom.`

Richard J. Humphries MBE FRSA Upper Bailiff of The Worshipful Company of Weavers in 2016

 

 

http://www.ritaparniczky.com/vault-series/ 

 

Untitled, 2013, medium: nylon monofilament and cotton threads, 120cm x 90cm

 

Untitled, 2013, medium: nylon monofilament and rayon threads, 180 x 120cm

 

X-Ray Towers, detail with natural light, 2012, medium: nylon monofilament, cotton and iridescent threads, 84 x 100cm

 

 

Mike Friton

Back in 2005 (ish) I visited the Technitex show in Frankfurt in my capacity as a Visiting Research Fellow for the Smart Clothes & Wearable Technology research group in the University of Wales, Newport.  Whilst pausing for a much needed coffee break I got chatting to a gentleman called Mike Friton sat next to me at the coffee bar.  When I said that I was a weaver, his eyes lit up and he asked if I'd like to see some handwoven cloth he'd made.  From his rucksack he unravelled a length of cloth woven with an undulating weft!  I then discovered he was one of the senior designer-innovators at the Nike 'Innovation Kitchen', responsible for some of the most iconic footwear developments, including the braided footwear.  It was fantastic to speak to someone with a passion for textile construction, who'd taught himself to weave in order to explore how to create more mouldable fabrics from the footwear perspective.

 

 

(c) Mike Friton

 

Above you can see some one his on-loom experiments, with the curved reed he made for his loom.
 
We stayed in touch, and a few months later it was with great pleasure that I was able to introduce him to Peter Collingwood to discuss warp and weft threads not following the expected linear vertical and horizontal paths. 

http://www.nikeblog.com/2013/02/12/video-profile-of-sneaker-innovator-mike-friton/ 

Mike now works independently, although still consults for Nike and other footwear companies.  Making is at the core of how he designs and innovates - as well as weaving, braiding, origami and kirigami are some of the methods he uses to develop ideas. You can find out more about him in this wonderful short film, and of course on his website.

 

The London Cloth Company

Film by Thomas Webster

 

After observing from afar for awhile with jaw-dropped admiration, I was lucky enough to hear Daniel Harris speak at an event in Wales a couple of years ago about The London Cloth Company, the micro-mill he had founded in the heart of London.  His enthusiasm is utterly infectious and I still can't overstate my awe for this seemingly insurmountable ambition to set up a mill. In London. The first for over a century.

He's passionate about the machinery and has been rescuing and resuscitating neglected looms and ancillary kit from all over the UK, which he now uses to primarily weave to commission for an illustrious list of international clients, including Ralph Lauren, Daks and Hardy Amies.

 (c) The London Cloth Company http://www.londoncloth.com/store-3/#!/Large-Checked-Woollen-Blanket/p/52164461/category=9998006

 



(c) The London Cloth Company http://www.londoncloth.com/store-3/#!/100-Cotton-Rope-dyed-Indigo-&-White-Herringbone/p/52743433/category=13958080

(c) The London Cloth Company  http://www.londoncloth.com/store-3/#!/Small-Individual-Swatches/p/52743799/category=13958080

PET Lamp

How seriously cool are these awesome handmade lamps?  Do check out the PET LAMP website to see more inspirational images and maybe make a purchase to support artisan makers across continents.

 

Craft in the Bay, Summer Show Focus on Weave open exhibition

This year, the annual open submission exhibition at Craft in the Bay, Cardiff (Wales, UK) has a focus on weave.  This can be in any material or craft process, not just a loom woven textile.   

Deadline for applications - 31st March 2016.

All details can be found following this link.

Online exhibition: From Back to Front, curated by Jessica Hemmings

"From Back to Front is an online curatorial project which gathers together recent examples of tapestry weaving that expose their construction: warp threads are left dangling, even the frame of the loom remains integral to some finished works. These visible traces remind us of the vast potential of the woven structure. Exhibitors include Ann Cathrin November Hoibo, Emelie Rondahl, Jennifer Hunt, Katharine Swailes, Lucy Brown (pictures below), Nicole Pyles & Tonje Hoydahl Sorli."

Commissioned by the American Tapestry Alliance and the Laffer Curatorial Program

With due thanks to Jessica Hemmings for sharing this information with me, via her email newsletter.

Lucy Brown, 2009-10, 99 x 138 x 40 in., EPI variable. Rayon (upholstery) cord, vintage and second hand garments, negligées, lingerie. Photo: David Ramkalawon. (Installed at the Rochester Art Gallery, England).

Eleanor Pritchard

Eleanor Pritchard is a creator of seriously elegant and easily covetable blankets, cushions and a recently added upholstery collection. Sophisticated colour palettes woven in wool, are realized in double cloth and other clever structures. With an ever-growing international clientele, its easy to understand why business is flourishing. It goes without saying I adore the work, but I also really admire the careful styling of all the shots of her products. 

In her own words:

I have always loved playing with colour and pattern. My work often has a mid-century quality and I feel a strong affinity for the aesthetics and design philosophy of this era. Alongside this runs a deep interest in vernacular British textiles and I see much of my work as a re-interpretation of these traditions and techniques for a contemporary audience.

All images reproduced with kind permission from http://www.eleanorpritchard.com/home.htm 

Dash + Miller

Dash + Miller is a brilliant weave design studio based in Bristol, established four years ago. Founded by the talented Juliette Bailey and Franki Brewer, they specialize in producing clever woven samples and meterage for businesses across the spectrum of fashion and interiors. Clients have included Habitat, Pringle of Scotland, DAKS, Jonathan Saunders, Mulberry and Calvin Klein Home.

They work out of an beautiful studio in a converted old schoolhouse. High ceilings and white walls make the shelves of yarns sing and the work on the looms command your attention. I visited them recently to discuss all things 'weave' and left very inspired but with severe studio envy.  Their neatly ordered and perfectly labelled storage and lack of clutter made me return home to have a good tidy up of my mess. Not that you'd guess, should you saw it...... (a work in progress).

Their latest design work to hit the high street is as part of the Best of British range for Marks and Spencer SS14. The line can be found in M&S stores at Marble Arch and Kensington in London, Edinburgh, Bluewater in Kent, and Camberley in Surrey, as well as available online.

There are two garments in this first collection showcasing Dash + Millers unique collaboration with UK ninth generation silk weavers, Stephen Walters & Sons.  Two-tone graphic jacquard's have been selected for a Bomber jacket and dress.

Hope that this collection proves to be a sell-out, not only in recognition of Dash + Millers excellent work with Stephen Walters, but also to serve as encouragement to M&S (and other UK retailers) to start bringing more manufacturing back on-shore.

Work experience opportunity with Anna Champeney in Spain

Are you  BA2, BA3 or graduate weaver looking for a short work placement?  

Anna Champeney Estudio Textil is in a position to offer a voluntary full-time placement of up to 3 weeks in end May / June 2014 at the textile studio in north Spain, with accommodation included in the picturesque mountain village of Cristosende.

Pretty amazing opportunity to get a little Spanish sunshine and work in picturesque surroundings.....

Penny Wheeler

Last month I was really delighted to see this piece of work at the annual Portal graduate showcase exhibition at Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre in Cwmbran. I had seen images of the work by Penny Wheeler beforehand online, and they were intriguing enough for me to know that I HAD to see the work in the flesh. Those that know my work will understand when I say that I'm very drawn to the power of the unwoven thread as much as the woven thread, hence my admiration. Its not often that I manage to get along to exhibition private views these days, but this one I managed and so I was particularly pleased to meet Penny at the event. She very patiently chatted with me about her work whilst I attempted to keep my very busy 19month old from careering into the ceramics on display (hence not often going to exhibition pv's at the mo......)

A recent MA graduate from Bath School of Art, Penny has a wonderful sense of colour, and the trailing threads offer the perfect counterbalance to the structured woven cloth. I also love her use of the inlay technique, drawing with thread on the surface of the cloth.  

The Portal exhibition has now travelled to Oriel Davies in Newtown, where you can see the work until 2nd January.  

Penny is also part of a very interesting new textile collective called Seam. The members are based in and around Bath and have a forthcoming exhibition, which I'd suggest is a must-see event for your diary should you be nearby:

Hiroko Takeda

I studied alongside Hiroko Takeda at the Royal College of Art, and so have long admired this seriously clever weaver. After a thorough grounding in Japanese textile traditions, a career as commercial textile designer in Japan then followed, before deciding to come to the UK to undertake an MA in woven textiles at the RCA.

Upon graduation she was unsurprisingly snapped up by the ground breaking Larsen Studio in NYC. After nearly a decade working there, she founded her own studio practice in Brooklyn, and has since worked on many inventive commissions and projects within the domestic and contract furnishings field. Recently she designed the panel drapery for ski resort in France.  Other exciting projects include creating work for the Christian Dior boutique in Milan, Beverly Hills and Shanghai for the VIP room wall.

Hiroko has an absolutely innate sensitivity to yarn and finish, and it never ceases to amaze me how she can take recognisable weave structures into such new territory. And I can't describe how much I covet the wrap in the picture above.......

Do check out this interview for more insight as well as her beautiful website.

Louise Tucker

Louise Tucker creates extraordinary hand woven lighting that is incredibly desirable and very cleverly executed.  She will be launching her latest collection at TENT this coming September, and is definitely a name to watch. Expect a beautiful exhibition of elegant, covetable work......

From her press release:

Welsh designer Louise Tucker will be showing her collection of contemporary lighting at London’s premier design event, Tent, as part of London Design Week 2013. A graduate of the Textiles Masters course at Chelsea College of Art and a weave designer with experience working within the Indian Silk industry, Louise is a designer who has been continuously fascinated by the possibilities of natural materials and woven structures. 

Launching her studio earlier in 2013, Louise has aimed to develop a practice that blurs the boundaries between craft and design. 

‘I want to make meaningful interior products that showcase the sophisticated beauty of natural materials.’ 

Over the last few months Louise’s hand crafted designs have been seen at major design events. These have included an exhibition with London’s dynamic exhibition organisers Designersblock as part of the Milan Salone 2013 and showcasing with the University Arts London’s Selected stand at Pulse London.

Supported by the Arts Council Wales, Louise will be exhibiting at Tent with a new range of PREN woven lights. Inspired by traditional weaving techniques and organic forms, the PREN lighting range has been woven out of sustainably sourced specialist wood veneer. Each PREN light pattern is developed by continuously making intricate small scale model. The design is only finalised when the organic forms balance with the subtle beauty of the wood to create a sophisticated simplicity. The woven forms not only create a sculptural object but a delicate light feature. Being a handmade product every light piece is unique and represents the time and care of the maker.

Weave: A One Day Symposium: Stroud International Textiles, 11th May

Weave: A One Day Symposium: Stroud International Textiles

Helga Matos

SPRING SELECT APRIL 27 – 26 MAY 2013
Presented by Stroud International Textiles

Saturday 11 May 2013
‘Weave’  is a one day conference will bring together a diverse group of experts to explore weaving and woven structures. The day will discuss how weaving has progressed and developed while continuing to delight in traditional textiles skills.

Confirmed contributor speakers are Laura Thomas; Nadia-Anne Ricketts; Eleanor Pritchard; Tim Parry-Williams; Deirdre Woods; Helga Matos. Philippa Brock (Chair);

These are inspirational designer makers who test the boundaries of textile material and experiment with how far those boundaries can be pushed. The work they produce is exciting, beautiful, intelligent and inspiring.

The day will bring opportunities for makers and designers to contribute their specialist skills and knowledge of materials and encourage new systems and processes. The day will explore and discuss new techniques while basking in the pleasure of woven cloth.

Each contributor strives to push the expected boundaries of woven textile working with design, architects, fashion, science and interior design
Tickets:
Full price £70
Concessions full time students, unemployed and Friends of SIT £40
Early Bird Tickets: Full Price £60 Students Early Bird £35
Early Bird tickets end on March 30

This includes a light lunch and tea/coffee on arrival.
Advance booking through www.sitselect.org symposium booking page.

A bookshop run by Yellow-Lighted Books will be present.

Booking
To book a ticket please go to www.sitselect.org or www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk and navigate to the symposium page where you will find full details on how to book online or if you prefer you can send a cheque to SIT office.
Or book through Tourist Information centre on 01453 760 960

Venue: Stroud College in Gloucestershire GL5 4AH
Contact Stroud International Textiles on 01453 751056 / info@stroudsit.org

Eleanor Pritchard

Tim Parry Williams

Weave Waves, a collaboration between Scanner and Ismini Samanidou

Crafts Council commission – Weave Waves - brings together sound artist Scanner and textile designer Ismini Samanidou to explore the connections between craft and sound.

Weave Waves has been commissioned for the Crafts Council’s new touring exhibition Sound Matters: Exploring sound through forms, launching in May 2013, which looks at how and where the worlds of sound and craft collide.

The dynamic online space – www.weavewaves.org.uk – will show the process of the collaboration between Scanner and Ismini Samandiou via ‘chapters’ which will be uploaded weekly.

Scanner and Samanidou have been inspired by the visual and technical similarities between the digital software they use and the physicality of code used both in music and weaving.

Samanidou recognises code as tactile and visible and Scanner sees code as hidden and veiled beneath the surface but they both use a shared language of zeros and ones – of binary code.

A presentation of their collaboration to date will be shown at FutureEverything in Manchester at 4 Piccadilly Place, from 21-24 March.

This presentation at FutureEverything will be in the form of a film and sound piece driven by their shared interests in scale and location and includes a mapping of the urban environment and soundscape of Manchester.

Following Weave Waves at FutureEverything there will be a series of conversations and interviews broadcast on Resonance FM (London 104.4 FM) and available online, which will focus on the artists and makers featured in Sound Matters, including Scanner and Samanidou.


Visiting Weave Waves at FutureEverything

4 Piccadilly Place
Manchester
M1 3BN

Wednesday 20 March*: 9-7pm
Thursday 21 March: 9-6pm
Friday 22 March: 9-7pm
Saturday 23 March: 10-6pm
Sunday 24 March: 10-6pm

*FutureEverything runs from 21-24 March however there will be an opportunity to see Weave Waves on Wednesday 20 March.

Weave Waves is a FREE event

About Scanner

Robin Rimbaud, aka Scanner, is a conceptual artist, writer and musician working in London. He explores the experimental terrain between sound, space, image and form, creating absorbing, multi-layered sound pieces that twist technology in unconventional ways.

www.scannerdot.com @robinrimbaud

About Ismini Samanidou

Ismini Samanidou designs woven fabrics for interior spaces, ranging from one-off pieces to limited edition textiles. Technology is an integral part of her creative process, her pieces woven mainly on industrial computerised looms.

www.isminisamanidou.com

About FutureEverything

FutureEverything is an art and digital innovation organization based in Manchester, founded in 1995 around an annual festival of art, music and digital culture. The award-winning organisation runs year-round digital innovation labs on themes such as open data, remote collaboration, urban interface and environmental mass observation. The FutureEverything festival each year presents the work of 300 artists across its art, music and conference strands, and is conceived as a ‘living lab’ for participatory experiments on art, society and technology.

In March 2013, FutureEverything presents the Summit of Ideas & Digital Invention, a one-off event that has been designed to showcase a wide range of digital innovation projects from international artists and developers as well as hosting their annual conference. In preparation for the 20th Anniversary of FutureEverything in 2015, the Summit in March and the next festival in 2014 have been designed specifically to demonstrate that at its core, FutureEverything is about innovation in all forms, be it in research, digital media or contemporary arts and music.

www.futureeverything.org @FuturEverything #futr

About Sound Matters

Sound Matters is the newest Crafts Council touring exhibition. It will explore the connections between craft and sound, investigating how and where they collide. It will feature the work of seven makers/artists that are seeking to explore and expand the boundaries of sound and craft. Musician and author David Toop is curatorial advisor for the exhibition which will launch in May 2013.

http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/about-us/press-room/view/2013/weave-waves-explores-craft-and-sound/ 

Feasibility Study: Weave sampling & short runs facility

I am currently undertaking some research for a feasibility study into providing support services to the weave sector. I have compiled a short survey aimed at designer-makers and small businesses and I would be hugely grateful if you could fill in should you fall into these categories.


I know how pressurized everyone's time is, but I hope that the information gleaned from this survey will help secure funding for a much-needed weave facility which could directly benefit UK-based weave businesses in the future.

I am working to an very tight timescale to submit this feasibility study and so I would be extremely appreciative to receive your valuable answers, by this coming Saturday 16^th March.

Please do forward this info onto anyone you think might be interested and keen to offer their thoughts.

Many thanks.

Eduardo and Maria Portillo

Detail of Nocturno

Nocturno

Yesterday I received these images by email from the extraordinarily talented Eduardo and Maria Portillo, and they quite frankly, made my heart skip a beat. The images show their work that is in a current exhibition 'Azul Indigo' in Caracas celebrating their exquisite use of indigo dying. But its not just about dying: the weave structures and dramatic yarn combinations take the colour exploration to another level. The work is utterly absorbing both from afar and up close: I love the way the ordered grid structure ripples, undulates and surprises as a result of the different yarn characters. 

The artworks aim to capture the various shades of blue that take us through the day; from the inky midnight blue sky, to a sky laden with rain, to the transparent air of the afternoon tinged with golden sunlight.

The exhibition is on until the 27th January. Sadly I won't be able to indulge myself with a trip to Caracas, but should you be nearby, you must go and savour this exhibition.... 

Detail of Nubes

En la Noche 

Detail of En la Noche 

Al Amanecer

Detail of Al Amanecer

Detai lof La Noche

The artists image reflected in an indigo dye vat

UPDATE, 15th March 2013

Here is some text that Eduardo and Maria have sent me translated from the catalogue that accompanies the exhibition. Enjoy.....

 

A Blue Journey

by María Dávila & Eduardo Portillo

Blue, color of multiple meanings, is also the color of hope. Every day dawns and the blue accompanies us in the sky, in the sea and in the distant mountains.

We see the blue in the morning but  in the  afternoon shows transparent with yellow and white. At night it darkens and with the moonlight follows a blue air. With the stars, in the morning, when it's almost dawn, the blue is still there.

Ten years ago, in 2002, when we found the indigo blue and draw travel lines to see the color of the peoples of Southeast Asia, of  the desert´s blue men , the Andean textiles and blue jeans, the eternal blue.

Indigo is obtained from various plants containing "indican" and Indigofera tinctoria L is the most used. As it is  insoluble in water, requiring an alkaline medium and a reducing agent to become soluble. When the vat takes an amber appearance, the fiber is immersed there, extracted  and with the air contact indigo oxidize to become  blue color.

In ancient times, due to its complex preparation process, the indigo vat was restricted to the hands of specialists. Its transformation from yellow-green to infinite variety blues was full of  magic and rigor.

In Venezuela still grows wild the indigo plant which was the base of an important industry for the country in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

In the highlands of Mérida there remains the memory of using this dye in wool blankets.

The discovery of synthetic indigo in 1880 revolutionized the way to obtain the blue in the world, in a few years replacing the use of natural indigo.

Today indigo culture remains in traditional communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America and in a wide universe of contemporary artists who see in its process a synthesis of history, culture and life.

In the mountains of southwest China, where the golden evening light bathes their endless   and steep terraces planted with rice, Dong people wears blue, almost black, their cotton fabrics dyed in indigo that seems to become waterproof paper after going through a slow and fascinating process of immersion in the juice of some plants and systematic exposure to the sun.

In northeast Thailand, indigo is full of superstition and alchemy. In every home the recipe for its preparation is different, secret ; add brown sugar, pineapple, tamarind, liquor, prove it, smell it, they keep it "alive". There all hands are blue; for a moment everything is blue.

In southern India still there are some indigo plantations, where the rhythmic "dance" of blue bodies in pools of indigo oxygenates the obtained extract , which should be processed until the dye is achieved.

In the Andes, in Africa and Japan, the art, study, research, trial and error are present in every indigo vat. To travel in search for Indigo  could be itself  a motive for a lifetime, every "vat" is different, each vision is unique, we  decided to try to find our own blue. After this intense experience, we interlaced the blue with our searchs and then brought them into the loom.

After a necessary pause we have resumed the pleasure found years ago, exploring the art of indigo dyeing, immersed in their vats again and over again, and we brought it to textiles structures that move us to get closer to blue moments of everyday: the night, the moon, the sky, the clouds, dawn, dusk, moments of everybody, moments filled with blue.

We have tried to fuse into the blue  the silk from Mérida, moriche palm from the Orinoco river´s delta, the wool of the Andes, and cotton, dyed in indigo and complementing it with other natural sources of color (cochineal, eucalyptus and onion) and with metallic yarns.

The space is constructed using blocks and mosaics born from triple weave , which is based on the interlacement of three layers of warp yarns advancing simultaneously and independently  while is weaving each one of them, therefore it should be weave three times the length  of the fabric obtained.

The various combinations of blues are revealed by Taqueté, an ancient textile structure , based on the sequences of  three or four colors yarn groups in the weft or in the warp

Today we celebrate the encounter, a blue vision of the world, a vision about the universal indigo blue, navigating the collective imaginary of some moments of the day and we endevour to get them into the space of the wide textile world.-

Dec 2012