Craft

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Art Craft Illustration

Hand-Sewn Portraits by Sheena Liam Capture Quiet Moments of Self Care

Malaysian-born artist and model Sheena Liam (previously) creates self-portraiture through dark green thread and embroidery hoops. The hand-sewn images imitate her own subtle gestures from her day-to-day life, focusing on rituals of self care. “In a strange way modeling parallels my art in the sense I often have to use body language as means of expressing a certain sort of mood,” she explains. “It’s no different from my embroideries.”

Long locks flow off the canvas from sewn ponytails and braids, which give the monochromatic work a sense of movement from their static position on the wall. Liam’s first solo exhibition in France, Times New Romance, opens at Item Gallery in Paris on October 19, 2018 and runs through October 27, 2018. You can see more of her works on Instagram.

     

 

 

 

Art Craft

Memories of Youth Interwoven With Thousands of Minuscule Glass Beads

Artist David Chatt explores his past, family, and memories in all-white works created using found objects and minuscule white beads. Whereas earlier work was more purely decorative, like his colorful Breakfast Set (2004), over the last several years Chatt has simplified his color palette and plumbed the emotional depths of his life for more emotionally-engaged work.

In pieces created over the past several years, Chatt has drawn specifically from his personal and family history, selecting meaningful objects like a boombox from the early 1980s, the contents of his late parents’ nightstand, and the tools his mother used to create innumerable meals. Using glass beads and thread, the artist carefully covers each object, and he describes the act of covering as a means of both sealing off and protecting his memories. He shares with Colossal, “This process has the power to transform an object that, might as easily be relegated to land fill, into something precious and a record of a time, place or experience, something that encourages my audience to reflect on their own experiences and complete the story that I have begun.”

Chatt studied design at Western Washington University, Bellingham, in the late 1980s, where he recalls that a 6-foot-five male pursuing beadwork was not warmly embraced. Over the years, he has continued to refine his beadwork through post-secondary study. You can see work from Chatt in a group exhibition at Denmark’s Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in 2019, and in “A New State of Matter: Contemporary Glass” at Boise Art Museum in Idaho from November 3, 2018 to February 3, 2019, a group show which includes work from Steffan Dam (previously) and Amber Cowan (previously). (thnx, Diana!)

Art Craft Design

Native Argentine Landscapes Explored in New Hand-Tufted Rugs by Alexandra Kehayoglou

Textile artist Alexandra Kehayoglou (previously) creates functional works of art that explore the natural landscapes of her native Argentina. Her selected locations are often ones tied to political controversy, such as the Santa Cruz River, or areas dramatically altered by human activity, such as the Raggio creek. Kehayoglou uses her craft as a chance as a call for environmental awareness, embedding her own memory and research of the disappearing waterways and grasslands into her hand-tufted works.

Each tapestry uses surplus materials from her family’s factory, which has manufactured industrial carpets for more than six decades. The one-of-a-kind carpets are often installed against the wall, with a section of the work trailing along the floor so visitors can walk or lay on the woven rugs.

In December 2017, her piece Santa Cruz River was included in the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial in Melbourne. The installation showcased her research behind the future damming of the river and her own interpretation of the harm that will continue to influence the surrounding area. Later this month Kehayoglou will present a new site-specific tapestry that explores the tribes of Patagonia in the group exhibition Dream at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome. You can see more of her work on her website and Instagram.

Art Craft History

A Peculiar Character From a Hieronymus Bosch Painting Comes to Life on the New York City Subway

Artist Rae Swon recently brought a fantastical creature from The Temptation of St. Anthony to life on the New York City subway. The triptych painting created by Hieronymus Bosch in the early 16th century includes a small, peculiar figure on the left-hand triptych (detail below). The character has bird-like facial features, and is wearing what appear to be ice skates and a funnel as a hat. After creating the modern-day costume using needle felting and other found materials, Swon took her character for a subway ride through Manhattan. Although this particular costume is sold out, you can see more of Swon’s fantastical felted creations like a Starling Coin Purse and an Opposum Purse on Instagram and Etsy. (via Hyperallergic)

Art Craft

Balloon Sculptures by Masayoshi Matsumoto Present Air-Filled Interpretations of the Animal Kingdom

Masayoshi Matsumoto (previously) continues to astound us with his balloon twisting skills. The Japanese artist uses a variety of opaque, metallic, and translucent balloons to form tree-swinging monkeys, beetles, and fish out of water. When asked how he plans each of his latex creations Matsumoto explained to Colossal that each work is decided intuitively, and is dictated by whatever he feels like making in the moment. Most often the works take 3-6 hours each, depending on how many folds and colors the animal or insect might require. You can see more of his balloon sculptures on Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram.

 

Craft Design

Precise Hand Embroidery by Jessica Dance Creates Visual Representations of Common Words and Phrases

Textile artist and model maker Jessica Dance (previously) recreates everyday objects and ideas using fabric, felt, and thread. Dance typically utilizes embroidery to produce details and text on her three-dimensional objects, but in these works the thread-based practice takes center stage. The artist combines typography and embroidery in series that show words and phrases in their visual form: “harvest” spelled out in a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables, and “good as gold” in shimmering metallic thread on glamorous red velvet. You can see more of Dance’s textile work on Instagram.

Craft

Expertly Crafted Bamboo Insects by Noriyuki Saitoh Appear Poised to Take Flight

Noriyuki Saitoh (previously) creates insect sculptures at a 1:1 scale, forming each of the creatures’ wings, legs, and antennae from thinly sliced bamboo. The Japanese artist poses his works as if they have been caught mid-flight, often incorporating handmade props such as honeycomb or sticks as a temporary perch. You can see more of Saitoh’s detailed creations, including a behind-the-scenes peek of his sculptural process, on Twitter, Facebook, and Behance.