Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

My work

Here are some pictures of my work and weaving has defiantly influenced me.

The Britsh Musuem London

Recently i have visited London and have gone to the British museum London for the array of African Textiles.
Whilst i was there i saw El Anatsui Man's cloth it really is WOW..
The scale and size of this piece is work is incredible it was hung from the ceiling with a metal frame work on the back supporting this cloth.
Its very structured and has lots of form.
If ever you get a chance to go and visit his work you definitely is a must.

Within the museum the collection of African Textiles are very board from cloth to bronze work and of course masks.


some of the African textiles in the Museum.


El Anatsui

El Anatsui is an artist who work is truly amazing. Born in 1944 he is a Ghanian sculptor born in Anyako and trained at the college of art, university of science and technology in Kumasi in central Ghana. He began teaching at the university of Nigeria in 1975.
One day 10 years he was driving home and came among a pill of garbage, garbage not being unusual in Africa he collected a bag and of he went. Not knowing that 10 years on it would influence his work and would be in museum.
Anatsui began experimenting with the metal bottle tops in the bag by folding, cutting their pliable metal into flat swatches and then stitching these together with copper wire, weaving then together the result is it began to grow to resemble cloth.

image from tumblr.com

The narrow banded compositions of  Anatsui work are recognisable variations of Kente cloth the emblematic fabric of Ghana.
His work is truly magnificent and is on a scale of its own using the tradition of weaving he has created some beautiful pieces of work.The detail of each component and the way in which it has been made is  and technique within  it's self.
His work can be found in Museums around the world.


 

Margo Selby

image from www.flowgaller.co.uk
Margo Selby over the last decade has been developing fabric constructions and textures on hand looms, Margo trained at Chelsea College of art and design and then followed with a postgraduate degree at the Royal College of art. So responding to the overwhelming response and demand for her fabric from her degree show Margo began to develop a relationship with weaving mills to explore the possibilities of production.
It was during this time that Margo united her innovative hand-woven structures. Margo launched her first collection in 2003, in 2007 she opened her stylish gallery and showroom in London.
image from www.mydeco.com
Since then she has rapidly became recognised for her trademark patterns and textures she creates.

Designer Rami Tareef

www.designboom.com
Designer Rami Tareef born in Israel in 1980, graduated b.des degree from the industrial design department, Bezalel academy of art and design Jerusalem. Designer at D-vision program for development and industrial design creates chairs with geometric patterns by weaving and wrapping cords around the steel frames of the chairs. These chairs are the product of Tareefs COD project. (crafts oriented design) in which this designer aims to update and preserve the traditional weaving technique. His work is so contemporary and up to date but is has kept the tradition of weaving. He has exhibited in many places his last was at the  Super design gallery for London's design week in 2012.

Looking at weaving in a contemporary way.

I have started to look at designers who works with weave or has been inspired by weaving and how these designers are making weave more contemporary and update but still using the traditional weaving techniques.



image from www.stylebistom.com
  Looking through view magazine i came across this image.
This is Dolce and Gabbana's spring-summer 13 collection
i then went looking for more of his collection and its was not only full of bold stripes, straw and woven manipulated pieces turned into bustiers re-working the classic basket but the full use of exciting summer colours and the embroidery work makes this collection full of fun.
The methods of construction here is very much an influence on my own work.
image from www.trendfashionstyle.com

image from www.stylebistro.com


Yarns for weaving.


image from watradehub.com

The yarns for weaving come in various forms and qualities, in the past these were spun from local grown cotton or unravelled from cotton and silk cloths imported from different countries. Various colours of yarn maybe combined in particular ways to reflect the symbolic significance of the cloth. The quality of the yarns used in the weaving of the cloth reflects on the level of prestigious and are most highly valued.
Tradition is that kente cloth is woven manly by men, woman in the past played a significant role by spinning the cotton into yarns and the dying of the yarn to get it's desired colour. Today factories have replaced this so they mainly sew the strips together.

Weaving equipment


Weaving apparatus are hand made by the weavers themselves or by others who have specialized in making equipment . A set of weaving apparatus will include the loom, which is normally constructed with wood. A set of two or six heddles attrached to threads with pulleys inserted in them, beaters and a sword stick. These looms like motifs in cloth have their own symbloic meanings and are accorded with a great deal of respect.


images from www.true-progress.com


Authentic printed kente cloth on vans.

www.theothersideofthepillow.bigcartel.com
As i was searching the internet i came across these authentic Kente cloth print vans made in the USA in 1993.

Kente cloth

Woman may either wear one larger piece of Kente cloth or a combination of two or three pieces ranging from 5-12 strips, 20 inches to 48 inches wide on average 6ft long. These are wrapped around the body either with or without a matching blouse








www.ghanaweb.com

Ewe Kente cloth.



www.ghanaculture.gov.gh


Ewe Kente cloth are some of the most highly prized by collectors on African textiles worldwide for the sheer skill and variety their Exhibit.