Challenge 48 - Metals

FFFC challenge #48 – August 2010 Host: Sandy Snowden

How exciting! A chance to get you to think outside the box!

Nature Theme: Metals

Colour Mood: Adventurous or Optimistic

Technique: Unusual materials/textures

Theme - Metals: Over the years there have been whole areas of the world settled because someone found Gold. Silver has been the affordable choice for jewellery and an alternative for coinage. Copper has its own appeal because of its colour and characteristics. Romans even made very treacherous journeys to Britain because of metals like Tin that could be mined there. And then there are all the other metals and compounds like platinum, nickel, bronze, pewter and so on.

Quilting doesn’t often include metal or metallic materials, but they can be used in very interesting ways. I have a student who loves “bling”. Some people dismiss bling on quilts as superfluous. But, if it fits the concept intended, it can work very well. If you are trying to depict something metallic, why not use something metallic to show that? If you want to depict glimmer or shine, then metallic texture can work well to give the results.

Mood: Adventurous or Optimistic - If you want an extra dimension to the challenge, try to create an adventurous or Optimistic mood to your piece. This is optional, but using metallics in a piece can often evoke those sort of moods.

Technique: Unusual materials/textures - Imagination is the key for this challenge. What if you used this or tried that?

I like the idea of working with unusual materials and textures. I have been using silk metallic tissue in some of my art garments lately. I love the shine which is controlled by the shot effect of the colour of the silk with the metal threads. I take these even further with metallic threads, sequins and metal beads. The latest one even has copper washers threaded on silver cord to make the fastenings!

I also like to see if something can be stitched into. Did you know the inside of tomato puree tubes are an interesting bronze colour? It is soft enough to stitch into. You can also stitch into the metal from drinks cans. Alternatively, if I am trying to introduce a texture that gives a historical precious look, metallic threads and paint effects help to produce the look. And then metal buttons might be just the thing for a royal or a military effect. Sometimes you need just a touch of metal, sometimes you want the bling to be “in your face”!

Metallic effects in Art

Illuminated Manuscripts - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminated_manuscript Gold and silver leaf - excellent accompaniment to the bright jewel like colours bringing the images to life in the candlelight glow. Also Google Images Illuminated Manuscripts

Excellent video about illuminated manuscripts: Brief History of Illuminated Manuscripts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXlUloFBcUo

Byzantine Art – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_art also Google Images Byzantine Art

Orthodox Icons - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon also Google images Russian Orthodox Icons

Klimpt – http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/klimt/ Klimpt used touches of gold as well as overwhelming amounts in paintings such as Adele Bloch-Bauer I

Textile artists

Many cultures use metal embellishments or metal threads – Indian sari borders, Traditional Thai clothing, etc

Here are some links to western textile artists who said “What if?” and decided use metal or metallic materials and effects in their work.

Jamie Fingal – known for her “Heavy Metal” series http://www.jamiefingaldesigns.com/working-in-a-series.html http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/Doc%20Marten%20Series
http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/Aprons
http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/Heavy%20Metal%20Series
http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/Metal%20Measures

Jenny Bowker - http://www.jennybowker.com/quilts.htm look for “Ittayer and the Friday Market in the City of the Dead”, “Abu Ali and the Gilded Chairs” and “You Can Make Anything on a Bernina - or Anywhere, or Anyone”

Meena Schaldenbrand - uses metals in various ways – I haven’t found a specific site with all her work, but if you put her name into a Google image search, you can find some interesting quilts. Look out for “Transparent Metal Star ‘Quilt’ ” which uses wire mesh; and her July Journal quilt 2003 which uses metal from drinks tins.

Alysn Midgelow-Marsden - Have a look at some of the photos on her flikr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/alysnmidgelowmarsden/ Weaving, heating, rusting and so on. Her book “…this Lustr’ed cloth” is a fascinating glimpse into some very exciting out of the box things that can be done with metal and metal cloth.

Kathyanne White - does amazing stuff by using her printer to print onto drinks cans, metal flashing and much more! http://kathyanneart.blogspot.com/2010/04/creating-with-digitally-printed.html She has an online workshop called Digital Prints on Alternative Surfaces: Skins and Metal Mesh. Her website http://www.kathyannewhite.com/textiles.html

And then you have the various artists who use rusty metal to colour cloth.

Lois Jarvis - http://rust-tex.blogspot.com/ follow up some of the artists who participated in her recent challenge…especially Beth Wheeler

Regina Benson – http://www.reginabenson.com/installations.html Regina does a lot of bleach discharge, too, but if you mouse over the images, you can see the pieces with rust. She uses a soy wax resist to get more predictable results.

Other Books

Ann Parr – “The Art of Stitching on Metal”

Jane Wild and Maggie Grey – “Paper, Metal and Stitch”

Just remember, it is about imagination and thinking outside the box! And as we say in the UK…Have a Go!