Feltmakers Design Award 2012

A year seems to fly by in the world of millinery and it is the time of year for millinery students to be pitted against each other in the annual Worshipful Company Of Feltmakers  Design Competition. The competition this year is to be overseen by the Queen's milliner Rachel Trevor-Morgan and Philip Wright of Walter Wright Ltd it will be exciting to see the finalists hats.

This year having been away from Leeds my highly skilled colleague and friend Sue Carter has been facilitating the manufacture and design of the first year milliners hats for the Feltmakers along with the very talented Fiona Wilson. So it has been very exciting coming in in the frantic last hours and packing all the hats away for collection today. When I interviewed the present first years back in the Summer I knew that they had something special in store and judging by their work my intuition was right, really exciting and quite sad at the same time knowing that the HNC Millinery course will close. Need to think of new ideas to keep inspiring new milliners.

Boxes of precious cargo - hats

A few sneaky peaks wouldn't want to give anything away, keep following and when the competition is judged I can share all.

Lost in Lace

I have been reading the Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp as introduced to me by the wonderful Visual Artist Fiona Wilson, one of her exercises was to do a Creative Autobiography  to realise where you are at and what makes you tick. One of the questions is 'Which artists to you admire most?' For myself maybe a better term would be 'Creative Individuals' or someone working within the Art and Design sector. The reason I say this is because as I listened to Lesley Millar MBE explain her latest exhibition Lost in Lace at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery I realised that she is most definitely on my admire list. I paraphrase - "The aim of my life has been to increase the understanding and awareness of contemporary textiles initially in my own practice as a weaver and now distilling the work of others." In essence this is what is within my own head with regards to millinery, so a great woman to be inspired by.

Lesley Millar MBE (blonde lady centre stage) beginning her exhibition tour

Suzumi Noda - Juxtaposition jacquard pattern cards woven together

This is the first of Lesley's curated shows that does not concentrate purely on textile artists. She explained that it was tough call to open her door to other artists a community that suddenly was beguiling to her. She wanted a response to 'Lace' and her aim was that all answers to the theme would hold the same weight. Lace being so much more than lingerie and veiling - A lot of holes surrounded by thread - Knitting with air - If space has boundaries is there another space beyond those boundaries? Lesley articulated that her planning of exhibitions comes from three points - Focus-Stimulus - Provocation, a good starting point for us all.

Piper Shepard hand cut site specific lace wall

De Certeau's sense of place and space were important to the exhibition, place is often seen as static and space variable and dynamic, these opposites create new paths and show the interrelatedness of materiality, frisson and tension, an expected and an unexpected use of form.

Chiharu Shiota - After the Dream

This was my favourite piece it was so evocative and stifling in its presence, like your worse nightmare, cobwebs across the face, stuck, beings coming to get you..... A large installation that has previously been at The Venice biennial.

If you can get to Birmingham in the next two weeks it would be worth the trip, a stunning exhibition in a beautiful museum and art gallery. The traditional lace exhibition in the bridge gallery in the museum is also worth a visit.

Harley Gallery talk Part Two

The second speaker of the evening was Sarah Coulson, Assistant Curator at YSP, like Susie Macmurray there to talk about 'Art in the Elsewhere'. Having visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park many times and enjoying the special nature of the place it was inspiring to hear of its beginnings in 1977, founded by Peter Murray who was a lecturer at Bretton Hall and passionate about the idea of putting sculpture in grounds of the park, a mission to show sculpture in the open air, but with no purchasing budget; a continuing changing sculptural landscape, changing with the seasons and changing with the movement of sculptural works. His aim never to patronise the audience and yet open their eyes to many new experiences, certainly is still very true.

The present exhibition is Jaume Plensa as shown in an earlier blog post, what was interesting to discover that Jaume usually sites his work within the urban landscape so the Capability Brown nature of the YSP was a revelation to him.

Jaume Plensa YSP

Sarah also discussed the support of the Park for up and coming artists showing an image of Andy Goldsworthy working on sycamore stems in the 1980's and explained why his work was chosen for the galleries 30th anniversary. Her latest on site artist being www.emilyspeed.co.uk who has worked within the Bretton Hall student residences and the follies in the park.

Emily Speed (from artist's web site)

Definitely tempted me to go back again soon not that it takes much as it is a wonderfully calming place when the rest of the world feels quite mad.

Though from my twilight trip to The Harley Gallery I must venture back there they are having an Open Studio weekend on the 26th and 27th November, a very stunning venue to practice ones art. Also the wonderful artist Fiona Wilson has her work featured there for sale.

MA Show Images

MA Textiles work

the beautiful work of  Fiona Wilson

The equally stunning work of Sarah Burgess

Art Market, Holmfirth

I visited Holmfirth Art Market today as needed some unique birthday gifts for friends & family. The range of practitioners was excellent definitely something for everyone with a good range of prices, and lots in that golden price point of £35 (Craft Council stats), which yet again reiterates why making and selling hats can be problematic.

www.louisetaylor-originals.co.uk

Lovely brooches & badges

www.suecandy.co.uk

Really beautiful clean lined ceramics.


www.creativelyoccupied.com    www.juliemiles.co.uk  and next time I am lucky enough to get some spare cash then these two makers would definitely tempt me....

Another highly talented designer maker was Fiona Wilson http://fiona-wilson.blogspot.com/ whose work was perfect for those special gifts.