Textile Folk Art E-Book

Anne Kelly

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 87

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

A practical and inspirational guide to textile folk art from cultures all around the world, accompanied by step-by-step projects. From samplers and quilts in Europe, to tribal and nomadic cloth further afield in Mongolia and China, folk and traditional designs have played a crucial part in the development of textile art and craft. In this book, Anne Kelly explores the traditional motifs used in textile folk art and shows you how contemporary textile artists use these in their work today. The beautifully illustrated guide is also packed with helpful step-by-step projects that demonstrate how to apply folk motifs to your own work. Drawing inspiration from the Far East to Scandinavia, artists and designers have often used folk art to influence their work. Beginning with the chapter 'Samplers in Stitch', Anne looks into handmade momentoes and souvenirs created in the UK and USA. Samplers as statement pieces are also explored and are contextualised within the role of women and children recording their personal histories and lives. 'Nordic Notes' then looks at Scandinavian traditional textile art, and how modern screen printing and embroidery have been used by contemporary makers. 'Silk Road' looks at the influence of nomadic cultures and textiles, including yurts in Mongolia and Miao folklore in China. Projects on how to make felt, pouched and jewellery are also covered. Lastly, 'Trees of Life' looks the motif of the tree in a variety of cultures. Anne also looks at traditional techniques from South Asia and how to create your own 'Family Tree' using photo transfers and appliqué. Featuring step-by-step projects as well as work from contemporary artists and makers throughout, this practical and beautiful guide shows how practitioners of all kinds can draw from folk art for making and inspiration.  

Leseprobe

Textile Folk Art

Contents

Introduction

Samplers in Stitch

Nordic Notes

The Silk Road – Travel and Memory

Small Worlds

Home and Childhood

Conclusion

Featured Artists

Folk Art Collections, Museums, Institutions and Organisations

Further Reading

Suppliers

Index

Picture Credits

Detail from a mixed-media textile folding book.

The author’s grandmother, photographed in Germany in the late 19th century.

Introduction

I can see my grandmother, aged around six or seven, sat posing for the camera wearing her German folk costume. It is ironic as she was from a Jewish family, but it provides a touching and treasured vignette from over 100 years ago. The object is a small sepia-toned photograph mounted on card by the photographer. The photo represents much of what we can relate to as ‘folk art’ and has itself become a work of art.

‘Folk Art’ is a broad term, used to describe work by makers with no formal art training. It represents nationality and locality together and is universal. In this book, I will introduce ways for textile artists to make connections with traditions outside their experience, as well as inside their own family histories. There is a paradox at the heart of this work as I have found that the very simplicity of it enables the viewer to make connections and imbue it with meaning.

The book begins with Samplers in Stitch, and looks at simple stitched panels, handmade mementoes and souvenirs. It will show how to make a stitched travel box, and explores the work of artists who use samplers as an element in their work. Samplers can also be statements and records of women and children, recording their personal histories and lives.

Chapter two takes us on a journey north with Nordic Notes – reflecting the current trend and interest in all things Scandinavian. Here we will look at traditional Nordic embroidery, designers and makers. Screen-printing and embroidery techniques are explored, as is work by contemporary makers from the UK and abroad.

The Silk Road – Travel and Memory examines the influence of the textiles of nomadic people, such as the Mongolians and native Australians, on current designers and makers. Work from India is also included, being very much in the folk-art tradition. This chapter would not be complete without considering luggage and luggage labels, and there is a project for making a folded book – the ideal format for keeping a record of a journey.

Small Worlds, focuses on intricate and small-scale work. The Tree of Life, a common symbol in many cultures, is the perfect subject for a fabric collage on a small scale, perhaps undertaken as a first project. This chapter also looks at badges, and then we scale things up with a few larger, but still intricate pieces.

The final chapter, Home and Childhood, explores the connection between home and folk art. Traditional American quilts form the starting point and from there we move on to contemporary interpretations. Childhood memories are evoked with a section on dolls’ houses and their embellishment.

My aim in writing this book is to illuminate a rich vein of inspiration for textile artists. It is a logical progression from my book Textile Nature and links elements from that title and my first co-written work, Connected Cloth (see Further Reading), with some new ideas and references. I hope that the readers and artists who use it will create their own small worlds.

Detail from Horse and Bird, mixed-media textile.

Sampler, embroidery on calico, Cockermouth, UK, from the collection of Barbara and Heather Gratton.

Samplers in Stitch

‘’Tis the gift to be simple, ’Tis the gift to be free.’

Shaker hymn

Samplers and Stitched Panels

Samplers and stitched panels are the first introduction many people will have to textiles. Practicing stitches and putting them together in one piece or project is a satisfying way to capture the essence of sewing. The great tradition of English and North American samplers tells us much about their creators and the lives they led. Dates, including birthdays and locations help to identify their often young and inexperienced makers. Family pets, houses, plants and trees all enrich the surface design. These are often treasured heirlooms that can be handed down to, and enjoyed by, new generations.

A fascinating collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Sampled Lives, showcases the variety of subject matter, purpose and design of English samplers. Dating from as early as the 17th century, these were used to record individual lives, families, villages and even schools. With Mary Derow’s sampler from St Clement Danes School (shown opposite), we see in a nutshell the depth and breadth of experience that these precious fabric mementoes represent. Mary was a student at the school that still exists in London’s Covent Garden, and her work was presented to the board of trustees for sale to raise funds for scholarships to the school. The piece is a sampler worked in silks containing repeat border of patterns, including coronets, alphabets, numerals, an inscription and detached motifs. Mary was ten when she completed it in 1723.

Simple Heart by Helen Ott, a work in progress, mixed-media textile.

Student work from a Stitch Samplers Workshop, mixed-media with block printing and hand stitching.

Sampler by Mary Derow (1723). A band sampler in linen and silk, bequeathed by J.L.W. Glaisher to the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.

The Little Bird Quaker Sampler by Jacob de Graaf, mixed-media embroidery on canvas.

Modern Folk Embroidery was started by Jacob de Graaf, a Dutch artist living and working in the UK. From his Yorkshire studio, he sells original patterns and materials inspired by centuries of arts and crafts. He uses the visual language of crafters that have gone before him as a creative springboard. His designs have appeared in international publications and are distributed all over the world. His fascination with samplers started when he accidentally found a Quaker sampler in an antique shop – it was a happy find as the piece was from 1795. He has since discovered more about its maker.

For The Little Bird Quaker Sampler (above) all the elements seen are original designs, including the traditional-looking medallions and lettering that Quaker samplers are known for. Many Quaker samplers feature birds and elements of the natural world. For this sampler, Jacob wanted to focus on the theme of birds. As he finished the design and counted the number of birds – there are 22 – he remembered that this number is also known as ‘two little ducks’.

Hen’s Teeth Art

A modern approach to making a sampler could be something altogether freer. Viv Sliwka is a Staffordshire-based artist, making work under the name of Hen’s Teeth Art. She says, ‘I work spontaneously, reacting to the inspiration provoked from folk art, dogs, hares, flowers and birds ...’ Viv always starts the process with drawings and these are translated into print, paint, free-motion embroidery and hand stitch. As Viv says, ‘my completed pieces tell tiny tales’. Her work is naïve in style and clearly influenced by folk art. Her colours and imagery are simple but strong, ‘I am not one for meticulous planning when it comes to making my pieces ... I have an idea and tend to go with it and see where I end up.’ Viv’s use of old postcards and envelopes is effective and with her combination of fabric elements they provide a rich background upon which to embellish.

Envelope (above) and Envelope (left) by Viv Sliwka. Mixed-media textile with paper, lace, postage stamps and buttons.

Travel Box

Recently in my textile practice, I have been covering wooden objects with a mixture of paper and fabric, as in my Ark series (see here)and Stitched Shed. In my teaching experience, I find that students also like to present their work in new and different formats, mounted on wood and in box frames. The travel tags, shown inside the box below, were made for my project Moving Memories (see here) and provide another intriguing form of presentation.

Travel Box, showing the interior with tags. Mixed media on wood with paper, postage stamps and textiles.

I liked the idea of a travel box and I decided to use a small cigar box that I found in a charity shop to commemorate my visit to Australia. I have also inserted pieces of vintage embroidery and used fabric to cover the box. The project opposite demonstrates how you can mix and combine paper and fabric to cover a found item like this box. The final step is to embellish it with writing, postage stamps, small buttons and ribbon and then apply a protective layer of varnish.

Making a Travel Box

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

»  Small wooden box, which you can paint or re-cover, like a cigar or sweet box

»  Paper, postage stamps, ribbon, buttons, pieces of fabric, embroidery or patches that you wish to use to decorate your box

»  Paper scissors and fabric scissors

»  Paper-cutting knife and cutting board

»  Glue stick, or acrylic wax, if desired

»  PVA glue and water mixture or water-based varnish (matt or silk finish)

1 Before decorating the box, make sure that any traces of old paper or unwanted labels are removed.

2 Decide how many surfaces will need to be covered and assemble the paper elements accordingly.

3 Using a glue stick, secure the paper elements to the box and trim with a cutting knife where necessary.

4 Add the pieces for the top and the inside of the lid, and the inside of the box. Buttons and ribbon can be added at this stage if you feel they suit the theme of your box.

5 When everything is in the correct position, varnish box with a mixture of 50 per cent PVA glue to 50 per cent water – you will need two or three coats of the mixture. Acrylic wax can also be applied to the paper elements of the background.

Travel Box exterior, mixed media on wood with paper, postage stamps and textiles.

Lettering

Handmade signs and lettering add a folksy and naïve quality to textile work. This can be seen in the sample of handmade banners from Sussex Prairie Garden (shown below). They were designed and made by the owner, Pauline McBride, and are used and reused for a variety of events and general signposting in the garden.

Wall hangings, mixed media on textile by Pauline McBride.