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      Thread Infused with Scent Embellishes Embroidered and Woven Textiles to Stimulate Memories

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      Art

      #embroidery
      #fiber art
      #scents
      #textiles
      #weaving

      June 1, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Jasmine I” embroidery on silk organza with jasmine-scented yarn dyed with hibiscus, beetroot, indigo, and turmeric, 36 x  54 inches. All images © Pallavi Padukone, shared with permission
      Scent, memory, and emotion are inextricably bound together in the human brain, making it possible that a single sniff evokes feelings of delight, comfort, and calm associated with an experience. Pallavi Padukone uses this inherent connection in Reminiscent, a series of six fiber-based works infused with naturally derived fragrances, all of which the textile artist and designer equates with her hometown of Bangalore, India.
      Part aromatherapy and part nostalgic stimulus, the fiber pieces hang from the ceiling as delicate, sheer curtains that are accessible from all sides. Padukone weaves and embroiders using thread that’s covered in a wax-and-resin substance she developed through trial-and-error. “The testing phase for the coated yarn involved sampling weave structures and embroidery techniques that were best suited for the yarn. I kept a record of swatches as a test of their durability and how long the scent and color last when exposed to heat and light,” she says.

      “Sandalwood,” handset and machine embroidered sandalwood scented yarn dyed with cutch and beetroot over layered organza silk dyed with cutch, rojo quebracho, walnut, madder, and iron, 13.5 x 15 inches
      Infused with clove, vetiver, jasmine, citronella, sandalwood, or rose, the cotton yarns also are hand-dyed naturally, pulling out the golden color of turmeric and rusty tones from cutch and beets to pair with a corresponding aroma. “It’s ironic that I happened to choose scent during a time when wearing masks is the new normal,” Padukone tells Colossal. “While the beauty of olfactory art is that it has to be experienced in person, I use textiles, patterning, and color as a way to visually represent my depiction of the fragrance’s personality.” A yellow and green patchwork, for example, emits the grassy, lemon-like aroma of citronella, while sweet, musky sandalwood is paired with thick, abstract coils of yarn on sepia-toned silk.
      Although the scents are embedded in many of the works, tiny accessible pockets cover the undyed organza in “Jasmine II,” ensuring Padukone can replace the flower buds. She’s currently exploring other methods that allow replenishment considering most fragrances last between one and three months. The transience of sent, though, is part of its appeal. She explains:
      I find beauty in impermanence and how each textile’s color, structure, fragrance changes over time. In this collection, I have incorporated handspun recycled sari silk and cotton for my weaves and embroider on organza silk. I am drawn to the sheerness of the fabric, the way it interacts with light to visually evoke the ephemeral experience of fragrance.
      Padukone lives and works in New York, and you can see more of Reminiscent and other textile-based projects on her site and Instagram.

      “Citronella I,” handwoven pre-dyed cotton and citronella scented yarn dyed with turmeric, indigo, and chili, 16 x 40 inches
      “Sandalwood,” handset and machine embroidered sandalwood scented yarn dyed with cutch and beetroot over layered organza silk dyed with cutch, rojo quebracho, walnut, madder and iron, 13.5 x 15 inches
      Photo by Olivia Koval
      Photo by Olivia Koval
      “Jasmine I” embroidery on silk organza with jasmine-scented yarn dyed with hibiscus,  beetroot, indigo, and turmeric, 36 x  54 inches.
      “Jasmine II,” un-dyed silk organza, jasmine buds, 41 x 44 inches

      #embroidery
      #fiber art
      #scents
      #textiles
      #weaving

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      Hidden Mothers: Swaths of Fabric Disguise Figures in Mixed-Media Portraits by Artist Sarah Detweiler

      by

      
      Art

      #acrylic
      #embroidery
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #portraits

      April 28, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “The Nightowl” (2021), oil, embroidery thread, and yarn on canvas in a wood frame, 28 x 22 inches. All images courtesy of Paradigm Gallery, shared with permission
      The lengthy exposure times required by 19th Century photography were not conducive to newborns and fidgety toddlers, a problem many mothers tried to remedy by cloaking themselves in fabric and hiding behind furniture. As a result, those Victorian-era portraits, while capturing an endearing stage of life, are often spectral and slightly unnerving, shadowed by phantom limbs and textile silhouettes that closely resemble an inanimate backdrop despite their lively features.
      This desire for disguise informs the multi-media works of Philadelphia-area artist Sarah Detweiler, whose ongoing series Hidden Mother is on view at Paradigm Gallery through May 22. Depicted without children, Detweiler’s portraits subvert the original photographs to instead draw attention to the figures otherwise purposely relegated to the background. Fabrics rendered with a combination of oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, and embroidered elements further confront traditional notions of femininity and motherhood by literally cloaking the women in materials long associated with domesticity.
      Because the artist has a personal relationship with each subject, the textiles, motifs, and colors all evoke specific aspects of their personalities and distinct experiences, resulting in idiosyncratic portraits tethered only by their shared identity. “In maintaining the anonymity,” a statement about the series says, Detweiler “preserves a universal relatability—the woman under the shroud could be you, your mother, your friend.”
      If you’re not in Philadelphia, you can take a virtual tour of the sold-out exhibition, and watch this Q&A with Detweiler for a deeper dive into the series, which is available as a limited-edition print set on Paradigm’s site. Head to Instagram to see more of the artist’s process, including some of the original photographs that informed the portraits shown here.

      “Hide and Seek” (2021), acrylic and embroidery thread on canvas with a wood frame, 20 x 16 inches
      Detail of “The Nightowl” (2021), oil, embroidery thread, and yarn on canvas in a wood frame, 28 x 22 inches
      Left: “The Hidden (Creative Rainbow) Mother” (2020), oil and embroidery thread on canvas, 18 x 24 inches: Right: “Tutus and Kitties and Pink, Oh My!” (2021), oil, acrylic, and embroidery thread on canvas in a wood frame, 24 x 18 inches
      “Ghosts of Mothers Past” (2021), oil, acrylic, embroidery thread on beveled edge canvas, 20 inches in diameter
      “If You Love Something, Set It Free” (2021), oil, embroidery thread on canvas in a wood frame, 12 x 12 inches
      “She’s in There Somewhere” (2021), oil and embroidery thread on canvas, 12 inches in diameter
      “Life of the Party,” oil on oval canvas with a beveled edge, 16 x 20 inches

      #acrylic
      #embroidery
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #portraits

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    • 175 Shares129 Views

      in Art

      Hidden Mother: Swaths of Fabric Disguise Figures in Mixed-Media Portraits by Artist Sarah Detweiler

      by

      
      Art

      #acrylic
      #embroidery
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #portraits

      April 28, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “The Nightowl” (2021), oil, embroidery thread, and yarn on canvas in a wood frame, 28 x 22 inches. All images courtesy of Paradigm Gallery, shared with permission
      The lengthy exposure times required by 19th Century photography were not conducive to newborns and fidgety toddlers, a problem many mothers tried to remedy by cloaking themselves in fabric and hiding behind furniture. As a result, those Victorian-era portraits, while capturing an endearing stage of life, are often spectral and slightly unnerving, shadowed by phantom limbs and textile silhouettes that closely resemble an inanimate backdrop despite their lively features.
      This desire for disguise informs the multi-media works of Philadelphia-area artist Sarah Detweiler, whose ongoing series Hidden Mother is on view at Paradigm Gallery through May 22. Depicted without children, Detweiler’s portraits subvert the original photographs to instead draw attention to the figures otherwise purposely relegated to the background. Fabrics rendered with a combination of oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, and embroidered elements further confront traditional notions of femininity and motherhood by literally cloaking the women in materials long associated with domesticity.
      Because the artist has a personal relationship with each subject, the textiles, motifs, and colors all evoke specific aspects of their personalities and distinct experiences, resulting in idiosyncratic portraits tethered only by their shared identity. “In maintaining the anonymity,” a statement about the series says, Detweiler “preserves a universal relatability—the woman under the shroud could be you, your mother, your friend.”
      If you’re not in Philadelphia, you can take a virtual tour of the sold-out exhibition, and watch this Q&A with Detweiler for a deeper dive into the series, which is available as a limited-edition print set on Paradigm’s site. Head to Instagram to see more of the artist’s process, including some of the original photographs that informed the portraits shown here.

      “Hide and Seek” (2021), acrylic and embroidery thread on canvas with a wood frame, 20 x 16 inches
      Detail of “The Nightowl” (2021), oil, embroidery thread, and yarn on canvas in a wood frame, 28 x 22 inches
      Left: “The Hidden (Creative Rainbow) Mother” (2020), oil and embroidery thread on canvas, 18 x 24 inches: Right: “Tutus and Kitties and Pink, Oh My!” (2021), oil, acrylic, and embroidery thread on canvas in a wood frame, 24 x 18 inches
      “Ghosts of Mothers Past” (2021), oil, acrylic, embroidery thread on beveled edge canvas, 20 inches in diameter
      “If You Love Something, Set It Free” (2021), oil, embroidery thread on canvas in a wood frame, 12 x 12 inches
      “She’s in There Somewhere” (2021), oil and embroidery thread on canvas, 12 inches in diameter
      “Life of the Party,” oil on oval canvas with a beveled edge, 16 x 20 inches

      #acrylic
      #embroidery
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #portraits

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

       
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      A Massive Catalogue of Stitched CMYK Studies by Evelin Kasikov Merges Printing and Embroidery

      by

      
      Art
      Craft
      Design

      #books
      #color
      #cross-stitch
      #embroidery
      #thread

      March 25, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “XXXX Swatchbook” (2010-2016), 180 x 210 millimeters. All images © Evelin Kasikov, shared with permission
      In “XXXX Swatchbook,” Evelin Kasikov (previously) explores all of the variables of CMYK printing without a single drop of ink. She catalogs primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, two-dozen combinations showing how rotation affects the final pigment, and a full spectrum of rich gradients. In total, the printing-focused book is comprised of four base tones, 16 elements, and 400 swatches of color entirely hand-embroidered in 219,647 stitches.
      The original idea came from Kasikov’s desire for a reference tool, one similar to loose sheets of Pantone swatches, that she could share with potential book design clients interested in CMYK embroidery. During the next six years, though, the project evolved into the uniquely comprehensive artist book it is now.
      “XXXX Swatchbook” features three-dimensional color studies in the style of precisely arranged halftone dots employed in four-color printing. “I use cross-stitch technique to replicate this. It’s a very simple idea,” Kasikov says. “I prepare the image in InDesign or Illustrator, then pierce the design onto paper and stitch with CMYK colored threads. Of course, my ‘print resolution’ is very low, about 3-4 lines per inch compared to 300 in print.”
      Stitched with varying thickness, the swatches use conventional screen angles—cyan 105˚, magenta 75˚, yellow 90˚, and black 45˚—to produce a wide range of colors and gradients, all of which you can view on the artist’s blog. Each French-folded page features geometric patches of thread, alongside hand-written details about the CMYK values shown. The spine of the book also reveals a vibrant gradient spanning magenta to cyan.

      “XXXX Swatchbook” is founded on Kasikov’s earlier “CMYK Embroidery,” a project that grew out of her MA studies at Central Saint Martins and was influenced by her background in advertising. Merging the two into the broader project of graphic stitching grew organically and offered an outlet to create a piece that was the artist says was “valuable, timeless, and trend-less,” in comparison to the more transitory projects of commercial work. “When you add tactile qualities to graphic design, it changes perspective. The structure of color can be touched. The printed image becomes three-dimensional. A flat page comes to life so to speak,” she writes.
      Kasikov splits her time between Tallinn and London, where she’s working on a project called Small Hours. Centered around a theme of silence, the collection features still-life photographs with freehand dots stitched on top in a pointillist style. Follow the ongoing project and find a larger archive of Kasikov’s book designs and embroidered works on her site and Instagram. You also might enjoy Tauba Auerbach’s RGB colorspace atlas. (via Present & Correct)

      #books
      #color
      #cross-stitch
      #embroidery
      #thread

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      Subversively Embroidered Money and Penny Sculptures Question Historical Narratives

      by

      
      Art

      #coins
      #embroidery
      #metal
      #money
      #politics
      #sculpture
      #social commentary

      March 18, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      From Insurrection Bills. All images © Stacey Lee Webber, shared with permission
      Throughout 2020, Stacey Lee Webber developed Insurrection Bills, a revisionary collection of United States currency overlaid with subversive stitches: flames envelop monuments, a wall is left unfinished, and an eclectic array of face masks disguise Abraham Lincoln’s portrait. Contrasting the muted tones of the paper, the vibrant embroideries stand in stark contrast and as amended narratives to those depicted on the various denominations. “The series references feelings of anger, turmoil, and frustration during the tense political climate while recontextualizing and questioning the beloved iconography we see on our money,” she tells Colossal.
      Currently working from her studio and home in Philadelphia’s Globe Dye Works, Webber is formally trained in metalsmithing—she has an MFA from the University of Wisconsin, where she initially began using currency as the basis of her projects—and sees the two mediums as an ongoing conversation. Embroidery “allows me to work in a quieter setting outside of my metal shop acting as a sort of ying to the yang, soft and hard, masculine and feminine,” she says.
      Many of Webber’s sculptures involve soldering coins, including the copper penny works that make up The Craftsmen Series and question the value of blue-collar labor in the U.S. Comprised of hollow, life-sized tools, the collection visualizes “putting endless amounts of work into a single cent,” the artist says.
      Webber has multiple exhibitions this year, including at TW Fine Art Palm Beach Outpost in April, Philadelphia’s Bertrand Productions in October, and Art on Paper Fair in New York City this November. If you can’t see the currency-based projects in person, head to Instagram, where the artist shares a larger collection of her works and glimpses into her studio.

      “Masked Abes,” from Insurrection Bills
      From Insurrection Bills
      Detail of “Masked Abes,” from Insurrection Bills
      A ladder from The Craftsmen Series, soldered pennies
      From Insurrection Bills
      Jewelry made from coins

      #coins
      #embroidery
      #metal
      #money
      #politics
      #sculpture
      #social commentary

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      Vibrant Botanic Embroideries Embellish the Dried Leaf Sculptures of Hillary Waters Fayle

      by

      
      Art
      Craft

      #embroidery
      #found objects
      #leaves
      #sculpture
      #seeds
      #thread

      December 29, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images via the artist and Momentum Gallery
      Merging traditional craft techniques and the natural world’s abundant materials, Hillary Waters Fayle (previously) meticulously stitches brightly hued florals into found camellia leaves and other foliage. From simple lines and ribbing to fully rendered botanics, the thread-based embellishments interrupt the fragile matter. The resulting sculptures evidence nature’s durability while juxtaposing the organic material with the fabricated additions.
      In the interview below, Waters Fayle describes how she gathers leaves and seed pods from areas around her home in Richmond, Virginia, and notes that her practice is rooted in sustainability. By using materials that are already available, like thread from her grandmother, the artist strives for zero-waste in her practice. Overall, her intention is to “bind nature and human touch,” magnifying how the two interact.
      Head to Waters Fayle’s site or Instagram to view a larger collection of her embroidered works. You also might enjoy Susanna Bauer’s crocheted leaves.

      “Inherent,” hand-stitched camellia leaves, 5 x 5 inches
      “Implications,” hand-stitched camellia leaves, 4-3/4 x 4-3/4 inches
      “Circle Inscribed,” hand-stitched camellia leaves, 5 x 5 inches
      “Reaching Toward The Other,” hand-stitched camellia leaves, 4-1/2 x 2 inches
      “Flora Series 7,” hand-embroidered foliage, 6 x 6 inches
      

      #embroidery
      #found objects
      #leaves
      #sculpture
      #seeds
      #thread

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      Colorful, Geometric Stitches Embolden Black-and-White Photographs of Historical Figures and Cultural Icons

      by

      
      Art
      Craft
      Photography

      #celebrities
      #embroidery
      #found photographs
      #portraits

      September 24, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      Yayoi Kusama. All images © Victoria Villasana, shared with permission
      When Victoria Villasana (previously) lays a long stitch on a vintage photograph, she’s connecting the pattern or geometric shape to a piece of history, culture, or philosophy. The Mexican artist transforms found black-and-white images of cultural icons and historical figures through vibrant embroideries. Turquoise fibers radiate from Nelson Mandela’s fist, a gold, chevron collar lines Chadwick Boseman’s shirt, and Yayoi Kusma sports a multicolor garment with varying dots and stripes. Emboldened by stitches that often breach the photograph’s edges, the multi-media artworks exude power, strength, and beauty.
      Villasana sources many of the images from the public domain, although she sometimes collaborates with photographers, as well. “I think color helps us to connect emotionally and I like to look at the past and merge tradition and vanguard. I’m also interested in symbolism and geometry in art as a way to communicate deeper meanings with each other,” she shares with Colossal.
      To explore more of Villasana’s geometric additions, head to Instagram, and see the originals and prints available in her shop.

      Chadwick Boseman
      Federica Violi
      Kara Walker
      Nelson Mandela
      Left: Miles Davis. Right: Harriet Tubman
      Ryu Gwansun
      Yayoi Kusama

      #celebrities
      #embroidery
      #found photographs
      #portraits

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      Embroidered Patches Redefine Vintage Postcards and Photographs by Fiber Artist Han Cao

      by

      
      Art
      Craft
      Photography

      #birds
      #embroidery
      #found photographs
      #landscapes
      #trains

      July 24, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Nice hair.” All images © Han Cao, shared with permission
      Through densely laid cross-stitches and whorls of thread, Han Cao revitalizes discarded photographs and postcards. Similar to the artist’s previous projects, her latest series New Nostalgia strikes a balance between the original subjects and the fiber-based additions. Sometimes covering faces with sparse dandelion puffs or confetti-like burst, Cao redefines the vintage pieces and explores how narratives linger as she stitches plumes of train steam that trail beyond the initial photograph’s edges.
      Based in Palm Springs, the artist shares glimpses into her process on Instagram, and if you’re in Philadelphia, check out her embroidered pieces that are on view through August 22 at Paradigm Gallery. Cao also sells some of her mixed-media works in her shop.

      Left: “Golden Conjurer.” Right: “Wallflower-Yellow Pansy”
      “Mt Rainier”
      “Runaway train”
      “Runaway train”
      “Generations”
      Left: “A steady dissolution.” Right: “Sisters”
      “Plume”
      “Sister, sister”

      #birds
      #embroidery
      #found photographs
      #landscapes
      #trains

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