Grayson Perry fabric - what it means to me!

I got some positive comments about the fabric I used for my me-made bra in the last post, so I thought I would talk about it a bit more! This pleases me, because A, I get to ramble on a bit with no particular direction and B, I get to tell you about myself and my likes a bit more!

The fabric that I used was a Grayson Perry print called 'Sissy' that he created in a collaborative project with Liberty's. There was an artists collection released in this year (I believe was 2010, but can't really remember and have done no real research...) that included six of the most prominent contemporary artists at the time. I was completely oblivious to this when I bought it and, although I had heard of Grayson and even admired his 'character', I had not really paid that much attention and certainly had no understanding of him as an artist.

I had recently moved to Reading, was jobless and was invited to London for the day by my (now) mother in law. The only thing on my mind at the time, was that I really wanted to go to Liberty's. It was getting near christmas and I really wanted to buy a couple of glass baubles to put on our first christmas tree. Whilst there I also wanted to pick up some fabric, so when I saw these prints my mind was quite literally blown. Like I said I was jobless, so 1.5 metres at full price was a fair investment to be making at the time.

Roll on a couple of years... Channel 4 showed a really great documentary, presented by Grayson Perry, about class distinction in the UK and how our roles in society are defined by where we live, the objects that we surround ourselves with, the way we dress and socialise etc... It was a fascinating view as to how we all fall (subconsciously) into these working/middle/upper class stereotypes. BTW, middle class is a distinction that applies to alot of people and is divided into many sub-stereotypes in case you were wondering. If you thought that the way you live is unique then think again! Many people around the country are probably mirroring how you live in some way or other, but this is not the point! This TV series inspired me and actually made me fall in love (not literally) with the artist. I googled him and ordered books, read his biography and went onto ebay to see what was around. It was on ebay that I finally joined the dots and connected Grayson Perry with my Liberty fabric and I was so over the moon that the piece of fabric that was so precious to me was also connected to this new fascination.

I actually feel like I own some of his artwork, as all of the characters and symbols are recurrent themes throughout his work. They all symbolise different things, but ultimately link back to him, his childhood, his desire to dress in womens clothes etc... FYI, I actually really like some of his dresses!

Here is a snippet of another print I have stashed away that I bought from ebay last year (photo courtesy of ebay!). I've only got half a metre, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to cut into this piece now.

Grayson Perry has definitely joined my list of totally inspiring creatives and being able to link him with the fabric just enthused me even more and probably placed him higher up that imaginary list. The (now, not so imaginary) list goes as follows:

• Picasso - Sublime skill and energy
• Elsa Schiaparelli - A couture astist in every sense
• Grayson Perry - For his honesty as an artist
• Jean Paul Gaultier - For his fabulous sense of humour in fashion. Wasn't he great in Rapido?
• Vivienne Westwood - Amazing use of shape and form with an aggressive edge in terms of message or style.
• Jaskson Pollock - What can I say? There's something so divine about the colours and the marks!

Look at that list! Going back to Grayson Perry's documentary, you could say that this is very predictable and almost bland in it's obviousness, but these people inspire me every day!

Ramble over!

Paisley

As mentioned in a previous post, myself and my good friend Ella (Bombella) are challenging each other to a Friday art project. This weeks theme was Paisley and this is what I have come up with!

Ta dah!

The Paisley pattern is traditionally made up of all sorts of intricate detailing, but typically includes a teardrop/kidney shaped motif somewhere within the design. This was originally inspired by Indian/Iranian designs, but is named in the Western world after the Scottish town of Paisley, a centre for textiles, where it was largely produced.

I did not quite know where to go with this initially. As I couldn't steer my mind any further than reproducing the Paisley pattern, rather than paint, draw or print it, I have opted to machine embroider it. I have used the machine free-hand without any pencil guidelines with white, grey and coral threads on off-white paper to create texture with tiny hints of colour. The reverse side (stitched with a white bobbin thread) is the side I prefer, as the colour only justs peeps through. I have not machine embroidered much before, so I found it difficult to control, but I enjoy the effect.

Reverse side detail

Drawing eyes shut!

Well after a long time of not writing (mainly due to new baby commitments) I am returning to it with a vengance.

I will shortly be posting an update of all of the clothes I have been sewing since the new year as well as regular updates of a new art project I am undertaking alongside my lovely knitting pal Ella (check out her blog as she is a really talented lady).

We are both going to produce some form of art each week that centres around a theme set by either Ella or myself. This weeks theme was eyes closed and we have food for next week with a Friday deadline each time. The whole idea really excites me as I love to have a reason for putting pen to paper!

Well, here goes with my first attempt at following a theme. I must admit that I am slightly cringing at the thought of sharing this picture as I'm not overly happy with it. It is a sketch of my daughter sleeping which I have drawn onto a fabric sample and stamped with orange spots. I like the idea of the drawing on a fabric like this, but it's just the execution that has let it down. The drawing's not the best, but I think it can be improved by being emroidered over (maybe)...

The whole point of this excercise is to experiment and be creative, so I feel I have acheived that at least. Lets hope that I improve as the weeks go by!

Staffordshire pottery dogs - illustrations

Below are some illustrations that I have been working on. They are all based on Staffordshire pottery dogs. I love the real life figurines as thay are kind of funny looking, but they can be a bit expensive, so I'll settle for these drawings. I may try and order some digital fabric prints of Grace and Majesty, so that I can make them into a pair of soft toys to sit on the side board instead of the real thing!

Selfless portrait - 14/04/2013

A pencil drawing of 3 friends.

Selfless portraits - the beginning

I have stumbled across an interesting idea on Facebook called Selfless portraits. Basically, once you opt to participate you get issued with a random facebook profile picture to draw and submit within 48 hours so that your profile picture can be sent to another random participant. You should receive your portrait back within approx 4 days of starting the process. I have not yet received one back, but below are a couple that I have submitted. You can do this as many times as you like, which really gives you a chance to experiment with different technique and also allows you to build up a whole gallery of self portraits. Here is the link Selfless Portraits and below are my submissions to date. I can't wait to see what I get back! I just hope that I haven't been sent to someone who uploads a photo of a dog or something...

gallery submission (unfortunately cropped alot of my picture)

original drawing - pastels on coloured pastel paper

double exposure drawing - holding 2 coloured pens together

Dorset scribbles

I went on holiday to Devon/Dorset last week and had a wonderful time. I am from Honiton in Devon, so I always feel like I'm going home whenever I go back. Below are a few scribbles that were inspired by the holiday and a visit to the BEAUTIFUL West Bay.

Boat names

Fisherman

Cliffy walk

Boat

My folk art alphabet

Inspired by my sketches from the folk art cows horn piece I was studying the other day, I have now created an alphabet. I am looking forward to turning this into an embroidery. We are off on holiday tomorrow and I always like to have something to craft on whilst we are away, so will be starting a new embroidery project. Yey for holiday!

Alphabet to turn into embroidery

This is a Scandinavian saying which I liked the sound of. Annoyingly, I have used some flourescent pink ink on this piece as a highlight on a few bits, but the scanner is just picking this up as grey. Harumph!

More testing out my new pens

Along with my new pens that I bought the other day, I also bought a little Silvine notebook. I really like how small it is. It's much easier to fill a page... Here's what I have been doodling over the weekend!

My pocket guide to Scandinavia

 Folk art motifs from a piece I had seen on 'Flog it'. Urm...so I like watching Antique programs!

My folk art alphabet

Pretty painted leaves and ceramics found via Folksy blog and Pinterest

Pay day pens!

It's pay day today and I've been out and bought some new pens. They are Stabilo fineliner (point 88) and 1mm (Pen 68). Off to go and play!

1 vase, 3 pictures

Just playing around with ideas again! I originally painted the watercolour of the vase whilst visiting my parents last February. I really like the shape of the pot, but was never quite happy with the way I painted it. I dug it out and re-created the image a couple more times using different mediums this week. I'm still not entirely happy, but am sure that there's something in it that I could be happy with. I shall probably go back to this at some point as I don't feel done with it yet.

original watercolour

mixed media - print, pencil and needle to prick holes

pen and ink

Pablo doll

I have been working on an idea for a Pablo doll for a few days now as a potential product to sell. Below are differnet incarnations of my ideas, I'm just not sure if they are any good or who might like them... I hope this is obvious, but he's based on the world famous artist who just happens to be my all time favourite painter, but just because I like him so much does not mean that anyone else will be quite as enthusiatic about a Pablo doll. Maybe I could do lots of recognisable figures as dolls. Do they even look ok or do they look too rough?

An odd bunch!

The version I am most happy with.

Time for a close up.

Possible brooch ideas...

Sunrise print idea

I am feeling enthused by print at the moment, so yesterday I played around with a few ideas I've been thinking of. I tried a simple sunrise image, whilst attempting create of texture within it. My love of textiles steers me to prefer a more tactile surface. I cut out a circle of paper and tore some strips to place on a blank sheet and act as a mask, so that I could sponge the blue lino ink on liberally, whilst still leaving some blank spaces to be added to. I cut out a simple foam circle stamp for the sun and stuck a crochet strip to some board to use as a stamp for the ground. I now wish that I had used some better quality paper as I really like how this turned out!

Happy with the above, I decided to repeat this image, but combine my paper pricking technique and a softer palette to really make the sun jump out.