sutton071

The Israeli textile and illustration designer Reouth Erez, who is based in Tel Aviv, has a passion for combining literature, philosophy and art, along with a practical design vision. This creative combination is clearly seen in Reouth's Ekphrasis project. Ekphrasis or ecphrasis, comes from the Greek for the description of a work of art produced as a rhetorical exercise, often used in the adjectival form ekphrastic is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined. In ancient times, it referred to a description of any thing, person, or experience. The work comes from the Greek 'ek' and 'phrasis', 'out' and 'speak' respectively, and the verb 'ekphrazein' "to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name." In her Ekphrasis textile project Reouth wanted to actually 'revive' classical texts (poetry) from different places and times (eg: Edgar Allen Poe, Pushkin, the Israeli poet Yehuda ...

Trapped, constricted, tied down by societies rules of norm. It is a shared history for many, and depressingly a largely female one. Whilst many men had at least some room for manoeuvre within their lot, some could work their way into different fields, different positions, some could emigrate, start afresh, anew, women could only really change their circumstances under the shadow of another.  The men in their life, whether father, brother, husband, son, often set the parameters of a womans life, and the opportunities, or lack of them. Women had few if any outlets for growth, and were expected to support and compliment the world of the men in their life, that role was rarely reciprocal. I know from the stories in my own family history, as well as that of others, the staggering amount of women, generation after generation after generation, who lived in frustration, angry at the tiny world they were deemed to need. Many of them more sharply aware that they were more talented, more ener...

Illustration: Andrea Vail. Gained (LOST) Opportunity , 2010. The work of artist Andrea Vail is dedicated to, and uses a number of formats, disciplines and traditional crafts. Common themes run through her varied work which are as significant and fundamental as the history of our species. Memory, the layers of time and the significance of objects imbued with personality and a fundamental symbolism are an integral part of her work and guide us through a variety of everyday and abstract ideas, which in turn give us perhaps a sense of our belonging within the timeframe of the environment and that of our species.   Although Vail's work covers a number of themes and ideas, it is perhaps as well to pick out one of those themes, to follow a strand of thought in some ways. A good example would be that of the simple key. A key in its own right is merely a tool made of metal in order to lock and unlock a mechanism. However, this simple but iconic tool has gradually become imbued with our...

Illustration: Judith Plotner. Adirondack Journal I. Many creative journeys are supremely private; others less so, many are degrees in between. The work of textile and mixed media artist Judith Plotner, although largely falling into the former category, can still be considered purely as an example of the rich world that can be composed from the elements that go to make up a mixed media base. Illustration: Judith Plotner. Slate Valley. Plotner uses the broad spectrum of the creative arts, bringing into her compositions the sensibilities of a fine art painting background, as well as that of printmaking, collage and textiles. The great strength of mixed media is the fact that layering and juxtapositioning can be achieved not only with the raw materials available within the different mediums, but also with that of mediums themselves. It is always fascinating to observe how sometimes a medium can complement another, while at other times the opposite can be both the aim and result. This can c...

Illustration: Virginia Abrams. Reflections 5 , 2009. I am always pleasantly surprised and even intrigued when considering how many contemporary textile artists arrive at the genre from such diverse creative journeys and backgrounds. It perhaps says much about the comprehensive appeal of textile art that so many individuals feel compelled to take up the genre. Obviously, because of the diversity of these individual artists, textile art itself broadens its parameters immensely. The American textile artist Virginia Abrams has a background in organic chemistry and biochemistry. She is fascinated with the complex interactions of the natural world and her work is centred on this fascination. Abrams work runs on themes suggested by nature. I have chosen one of these themes water, to illustrate this article. All of these pieces are literally reflections. However, it would be misleading to believe that they are merely optical observations conceived by Abrams. These are complex recipes using ing...

Illustration: Helene Davis. Black Rain. Probably the most fundamental and guiding principal that colours, literally, the work of textile artist Helene Davis is that of her passion for hand-dyed fabric. Davis, after using bought quilting fabrics for a number of years, moved into the process of hand-dying her own fabrics, making each quilting project a much more personal and individual process. Illustration: Helene Davis. Black Rain (detail). Hand-dying is an exciting but often less than accurate medium in which to work. It takes a lot of skill, time, and patience in order to arrive at a range of fabrics in colour-ways, tones, and scale that can easily be worked with. The fact that the images shown in this article have arrived at that point, is easily evident. Davis is in control of the medium from start to finish. By producing her own dyed fabrics, she is able to forge a link between colour and texture that is both personal and individual, something that can never be truly said for bou...

Illustration: Denise Linet. Random Ascent, 2009. The work of textile artist Denise Linet resembles that of a complex assemblage of different mediums, experiences, and observations. Linet's work incorporates a whole host of printing processes from straightforward dying and painting to the much more complex and accomplished process of the transference of photographic imagery. These processes give the artist a wide range of surface textures and mark making capabilities in which to build up her compositions. Illustration: Denise Linet. Pond's Edge , 2009. It is the very nature of the relationship between the layers and processes, which are such an integral part of her work that seem to so intrigue Linet. These are not random juxtapositions, but are that of a complex visualization of a particular point in space. The artist has taken a moment in time, sometimes at a particular setting or personal experience, which is then interpreted in a number of textile mediums. These separate a...

Illustration: Gerrie Congdon. Sunset Composition, 2009. The textile artist Gerrie Congdon produces work that deals with the elemental landscape. The natural world is such a large part of Congdon's compositions that they set both the scene and the style of each piece. Her work forms a collage of experiences all of which are of the quiet, thoughtful and reflective variety, the best type when observing and representing the natural world. Illustration: Gerrie Congdon. Illuminated Aspens , 2009. There is a definite element of tranquillity that permeates her work, almost bordering on that of a serene stillness. Congdon reveals through a combination of screen-printing, painting, stencilling and discharging, a series of colour tones and textures that are able to transport us to the quiet places of the natural world. These undisturbed and untroubled havens might well be areas that are tucked away in the memory or imagination of the artist, though it seems more likely to be a matter of comp...

Illustration: Altoon Sultan. Turquoise Circles. Textile art can take many forms and use many mediums. In recent years a number of craft processes not usually associated with textile art have been incorporated by some of the more enterprising and non-judgemental artists. Some of the skills that have been incorporated into textile art include many that were considered to be the lesser craft skills, most of which were on a strictly amateur basis and have rarely if ever seen any professional aspect to their medium. These include such staples of the amateur world as crochet, macrame, hooked and rag rugging, to name only a few. Illustration: Altoon Sultan. Boxed Circles. Hooked rugs have always been seen as belonging to a world of instant necessity and practical need. The skill of hooked rugging was never considered part of any Arts & Crafts revival or even part of a middle class accomplishment package that was expected from every woman before and after marriage. These art and craft pa...

Illustration: Cynthia Corbin. Permeable, 2008. It is sometimes difficult to categorise Cynthia Corbin's work as it is so much more than the title of quilting or even textile art can do justice to. The techniques used in order to produce the resulting textural and painterly aspect of her work could very well be seen as on a literal par with some of the best efforts of fine art abstract painting. The fact that Corbin does indeed work with fabrics and stitching and not oils, acrylics or pastels is all the more remarkable as all the fabrics used are individually painted with dyes, rather than bought or dyed en masse. This attention to detail, taking each separate fabric as a project in its own right, allows Corbin to build up a unique library of artistic moments which gives her a perspective towards quilting that is much deeper, more personal and certainly more creative than most.  Illustration: Cynthia Corbin. Blocked, 2008. It is the mark making techniques and textures that have a...