Left: “Scottish Deerhound,” 66 x 80 x 20 centimeters. Right: “The Haberdasher’s Dog,” 55 x 78 x 24 centimeters All images © Barbara Franc, shared with permission
Alongside an eccentric metallic menagerie, artist Barbara Franc stitches shaggy hounds with frayed fur and coats layered with assorted patches of prints. The fabric creatures are part of Franc’s collection of animals constructed with repurposed materials that range from buttons and vintage tapestries to windshield wipers and cutlery. To create these soft sculptures, she wraps scraps of worn trousers, curtains, and scarves around a padded, wire armature, defining a muscular hind leg with tweed or a stomach with an embroidered fairytale scene. The tattered edges mimic a tousled tail and the fringe sticking up from an ear, adding lifelike texture to the canines.
If you’re near Towersey, Oxfordshire, this August, Franc is offering a five-day workshop on crafting the textile forms at The Phoenix Studio. The West London-based artist will also have pieces this week at the Affordable Art Fair in Hampstead Heath and with Rockwood Group at Bucks Art Weeks slated for June. You can find more of her upcycled characters on her site and Instagram.
Detail of “The Haberdasher’s Dog,” 55 x 78 x 24 centimeters
“The Haberdasher’s Dog,” 55 x 78 x 24 centimeters
“Entre le Chien et le Loup,” or “Twilight Hound,” 58 x 67 x 21 centimeters
“Shaggy Dog Tale”
Detail of “Shaggy Dog Tale”
“Entre le Chien et le Loup,” or “Twilight Hound,” 58 x 67 x 21 centimeters
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Source: Art - thisiscolossal.com
