CREATIVE TEXTILE ART

BY ROSEMARIE SMITH
Fabric / thread art can take many forms, fabric collage,
appliqu, patchwork, embroidery, tapestry weaving, knitting
being but a few of them.
However one form of fabric/ thread art which has perhaps
not received the attention it deserves is mixed media
textiles, where the fabric/ thread itself is often
manipulated and various types of techniques are used to
create marvellous decorative pieces.
The joy of this art form is that I can give free reign to
my creativity, -- in fact my message is forget the rules
. Even a complete novice can discover how to make exciting
designs, using a medley of different colours, fabrics,
threads, experimental textile techniques and stitches.
I disregard all the limitations that may have been freely
passed on by too conservative teachers, family, friends and
relations. I savour all the enthusiasm and suggestions that
I can gather from those around me.
With the theme forget the rules , in mind, I explore and
experiment with ideas and materials, and attempt to
translate both into unorthodox forms. New materials are
constantly being produced and apart from being just
functional, most hold very exciting possibilities for creative
exploration.
I believe even the uninitiated can be introduced to textile
work as well as encouraging broader horizons to those who
are already actively involved with
embroidery/patchwork/weaving groups. Linked with
experimentation it can only lead to interesting results.
There are basically two types of Textile workers, one group
will enjoy working through a number of exercises and
experimentation to gain greatest satisfaction from the
creative potential of familiar and unusual materials, allied
to unorthodox means of reaching desired results. The
second group will be hesitant to experiment, yet produce
exciting work with traditional techniques as features.
Whichever group people fall into they will no doubt face the
question whether the work is complete or not. From my
point of view a richly worked textile piece is visually more
exciting than one that is not.
The success of creative textiles depends very largely on
how important a role creativity plays in it. This involves a
questioning or even disregarding of the various rules held
dear by the purists and the traditional maker. Although I
can still use traditional practices as a basis for my projects
the fascination of creative work lies in exploring new
possibilities and finding innovative solutions to problems
there are no limits to the ways and means in which I can
translate colours, fabric and textures into unique pieces of
art. There is always something new to discover.
Part of the pleasure of working with textile art in a
creative way is its wide potential for being manipulated. to
create a new textured surface.
Colour and texture coupled with design is one of the most
important elements for me in creative textiles. Work will
either vibrate with interest or be lacking in colourful
interaction.
The potential of colour is enormous. It is generally the
fear of the unknown that keeps people from experimenting
with colour. My appreciation of colour awareness grows and
over time I have been surprised by my abilities to extend
myself.
A sense of design may be inspired by the mere sight of a
group of coloured threads placed against one or more
coloured fabrics. The colour relationships may express a
mood, or an emotion, which can be emphasized by the
techniques applied.
Every artist and crafts-person has his or her own method
of creating an image or achieving an object from the first
rough sketch to the final moment of completion, so I find I
am rewarded by producing exciting creative work after
research a theme.
I am currently fascinated by trees in all forms as a design
theme both for colour and texture work.
In the past I have studied crystals, the landscape, the
sea, and recycling as inspiration sources.
I am also interested in Monet as a painter and other 20
th

century art.
I am interested in Medieval/ Tutor/ Elizabethan fashion
and culture.
I have studied ethnic textiles of India, China, Mexico and
South America.
I am just beginning to look at African culture and textiles.
There are still areas I can cover to extend my knowledge
further and I look forward to the course modules and
projects.

Rosemarie Smith
22/08/08
ROSEMARIE SMITH LOOKING AT MY PREVIOUS WORK.

TEXTURE.

I am constantly exploring ways to achieve this through stitchery , adding
found objects and beads, fabric distortion, slashing, manipulation,
burning, weaving They all result in interesting textural changes and
create opportunities for using threads and fibres in creative ways. and
making possible workable three dimensional elements.
I have not used much in the way of polymer clay to provide another way
of achieving textural changes with threads.

SURFACE STITCHES.

In the past I have used stitchery to fill given shapes, such as petals,
leaves, faces, foliage, figures etc. I have used stitches to intercept in a
representational way a variety of subjects such as landscapes, seascapes,
gardens etc. I have extended mark making in a more abstract way using
threads as elements of perspective, colour. tone, scale, texture, and
surface finish,[shiny, matt, rough, smooth.].

COLOUR.

I tend to go to autumnal , earth, and sea tones also creams, blues,
purples. I rarely work with primary colours. I suppose this is because I
work best with my own colour preferences . I have always enjoyed fabric
decoration with natural dyes, paints, resists etc.

SHAPE.

I do not like straight or angular lines, but curves, and ragged edges. The
more distressed the better. I hate pieces of work framed in neat frames.
[ I am not good at doing straight lines]


MY INSPIRATION TO DATE.

The magic of landscapes has been the main source of my inspiration
because I live between Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. The colours and
moods of these and the Cornish coastline have been reflected in my
previous work.
My method of working has now become interwoven with my every day life
.
I am constantly aware of the seasons and cycles of nature, of death and
rebirth and the links with ancient cultures, I record visual information,
collect pictures, and photographs , write descriptive prose often based
on a sense of place or an emotional experience .
There is a strong sensation of being at one with nature and the
elements.



OVERVIEW OF 20th CENTURY ART..

At the beginning of the 20th century these was a fundamental re
examination and exploration of many of the arts, science and technology
that had been established since the Renaissance.
Many of the rules by which we define , describe, and explain our world
were established . Modern masters such as Picasso and Matisse were
attracted to the arts , not by the thought of commercial gain or social
status, but by the opportunity to experiment and rewrite the rule
book. The modern masters were aware they were adventuring into the
unknown, but they did succeed in their quest and the model of radical
innovation that they established as a new ideal persisted into the mid
century with the emergence of progressive artists such as Pollock. The
isolation of the advant- garde artist began when the Museum of Modern
Art was founded in New York in 1929, The advant garde now had an
official and institutional home. From this modest origin, museums of
contemporary art have become significant institutions. thoughout the
world, welding great power, supporting a selected band of artists through
purchase and exhibition and effectively filling many of the same
functions as the old academics. The politics of the official patronage
and art collecting at the end of the 20th century are curiously similar to
that of the end of the 19th-- only the look is different.
It remains to be seen whether the of academic art. high profile artists of
today who so successfully attract media attention are as radical and
shocking as they frequently claim to be, or whether they are in fact
merely working to a new formular, effectively a new type of academic art.
MEMORIES OF TREES FOR TACTILE TEXTURES
EXHIBITION

This project is about the use of textures in relation to trees and tree bark. I
have used the
following techniques-all pages edged with hand made cord

Front Cover- use of newspaper, scrunched and painted, inserts are fabric
made from waste snippets and chiffon with applied hand made felt leaves,
use of beads and buttons.
Inside Cover- use of hand printed fabric.

Page 1fabric printed from my own photo on to calico, the face between tree
trunks trepunto quilting, couching of handspun and dyed thread, use of actual tree
bark and buttons.

Page 2-polycotton fabric photo printed, together with appliqud photo of
Whistmans Wood on Dartmoor, use of machine ruched fabric for bark.

Page 3- printed fabric from page of my sketchbook, together with smocking samples of
tree bark, use of textured stitches, beads and buttons.

Page 4- newspaper painted with boot polish with grid from string bag machined over it,
beads applied and then clear acrylic painted over.

Page 5- background calico naturally dyed with onion skins, then applied
piece of stitching that has melted cling film, cellophane and expandaprint in
background, heat gun applied to cut back certain areas, then painted with fabric
paint and hand stitched.

Page 6- calico mono printed then leaves printed on top.

Page 7- naturally dyed calico with applied stitched piece that used layers
of painted bondaweb, expandaprint, chiffon, use of heat gun and
textured stitches.

Page 8- mono printed calico using natural dyes and leaf print.

Page 9- burnt back layers of net, organza, silk, with couched textured
threads.

Page 10- silk paper with waste threads in layers.

Page 11- hand made paper background, with applied hand dyed fabric and use
of fabric manipulation and textured stitches.

Page 12- printed calico from own photograph of interesting tree bark.

Page 13-dyed polycotton with applied green man face, words & stumpwork leaves & acorns.

Page 14-dyed polycotton with applied crazy patchwork piece using paper, net, silk, painted bondaweb and stitches.

Page 15- printed fabric with applied piece showing fabric manipulation
techniques.

Back page painted scrunched news paper, with tree made from layers of
fabric, painted bondaweb, chiffon, net, expandaprint with fence of
painted glue.