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Inspirational 20 is now released for instant download and instant access. Pick up a copy at:  https://payhip.com/b/OX4M Over 100 pages in interviews and imagery from contemporary artists around the globe - from textiles to collage, from painting to photography. All previous issues of Inspirational are available from:  https://payhip.com/johnhopper or why not take out a subscription to Inspirational, delivered monthly to your email. It's as easy as following the link:  https://payhip.com/b/MNp6 Inspirational...celebrating creativity # inspirational   # inspiration   # creativity   # artmagazine   # artpublication   # textileart # fiberart   # painting   # photography   # collage   # digital   # conceptual

Illustration: Flower Boy , 2015 (fabric, thread, screen-printing ink, fusible adhesive) China Marks is an artist that was originally a sculptor, but over the years the artist has moved into textiles, and now produces a range of individualistic fabric-based compositions. China is best known for her large format drawings, which take the form of fabric collages. Source materials for these collages often include an eclectic range, such as old commercial tapestry reproductions of historical paintings, pieces of found fabrics, various embroidery pieces, and general ephemera.  Over long periods these eclectic raw materials are cut up by China, then formed, added to, removed from, and reformed, the process being repeated over and over, until both materials and process produce the desired effect that she wants to see within a composition.  Illustration: All Kinds of Lost , 2015 (fabric, thread, fusible adhesive) Illustration: Better Living Through Chemistry , 2013 (fabric, tea-dyed la...

Illustration: Karen Stiehl Osborn. Midpoint . The mixed media artist Karen Stiehl Osborn works in a range of mediums with a large selection of raw materials that can include canvas, cheesecloth, string, paper, paint, ink, dyes and threads, many of which can and are included within the same composition. This broad use of mediums, materials and working practice is at the heart of mixed media itself. By its very nature a mixed media artist is one that can take a fairly wide-spectrumed view of both the world around them and the creative aspect in particular. Layering and juxtapositioning of complementary and often conflicting materials and subjects become familiar and creatively inspiring. This is the case with the work of Stiehl Osborn who has taken the natural tendencies of mixed media to a level that she has made her own. Illustration: Karen Stiehl Osborn. Delmar #5 to 15 . In a series of compositional explorations, the artist has investigated, through her wide-ranging materials base, t...

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: 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: Peggy Brown. December Ice. Peggy Brown approaches textile art from the perspective of a watercolour artist. She produces fine art painting on both paper and fabric and is able to drift between the two mediums without the usual barriers that are often thrown up between textile and fine art painting. As far as textiles are concerned, Brown applies watercolour paint on to white fabric and then builds up layers of intensity of colour and texture as the mood takes her. These painted fabric pieces are then used within a built up collage composition. She also regularly uses paper within the composition as well as fabric, paper giving a different textural quality to that of the fabric.  Illustration: Peggy Brown. Another Form. Interestingly Brown uses the organic and free flowing quality of the watercolour paint to emphasise that very fact, that water is both free and fluid in its seemingly random journey across both fabric and paper. However, she also manages to give this ...

Illustration: Lisa Hochstein. Compass salvaged paper collage. Paper work is very often considered to be, within the textile world at least, an integral part of the process of both textile design and textile artwork. In many cases the paper work is the first stage of a fairly lengthy process whereby ideas are first formulated, often changed and manipulated before being transferred to another medium, whether that be textile printing, weaving, quilting, embroidery, or indeed fine art painting. However, it should be noted that paper collage is in its own right an art form and should not be seen as a mere process towards another medium or idea. The work of the California based artist Lisa Hochstein shows us through her varied work, excellent examples as to how an artist can use a medium like paper collage in tandem with both textile and fine art painting without the paper collage medium feeling an awkward second best. Through her work, she is able to show us the maturity that paper collag...