Category: Art
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Jamdani: the Art of Weaving
Jamdani is a type of muslin that comes from Bangladesh where it is painstakingly hand-woven. These intricate patterned fabrics are made with a supplementary weft (an additional thread that is woven across the background cloth). The result is a highly decorative cloth that is sold at Jamdani Haat – a market where the cloth is…
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Textiles: The Art of Mankind
The Fashion and Textiles Museum in London’s Bermondsey is currently playing host to what looks like a rather wonderful showcase. Textiles are carriers and conveyors of histories, meaning and identity. This exhibition, on until 7th September, shows some of the ingenuity that goes into the making of them. According to the website for the museum,…
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Embroidery and oils
Daniela García Hamilton, a first-generation American of Mexican descent, uses threads and oil paints to explain her family relationships. In the artist’s hands, photographic portraits and everyday scenes act as catalysts for paintings with an addition of embroidery. Each stitch illuminates the picture, adding depth, and the care with which the images are embellished reminds…
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Soft Power
Soft Power, lives told through textile art is currently on in the UK at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol. This exhibition has been curated by Professors Alice Kettle and Lesley Millar and relates the stories of people through textiles. Sometimes those stories are intimate and closely bound to an individual, sometimes they are…
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Kiribati armour
The Republic of Kiribati is not on many travel itineraries but it has a fascinating culture, including the wearing of intricate and somewhat alarming armour! The body armour of Kiribati (pronounced “Kiribas”) is held in museum collections around the world. The outfits consist of a full-body suit of woven coconut fibre accompanied by a neck…
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Egypt and the Singer Sewing machine
The Singer company specialised in making stylish sewing machines that graced the home. Originally called I. M. Singer & Co., the Singer Company produced the first practical sewing machine for domestic use. The company started in 1851 and quickly grew until it was the largest producer in the world of these machines. Old Singer sewing…
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The Spotify playlist
Each week a curated playlist of audio is made on the streaming platform Spotify. The playlist can be heard on the player above or by searching Spotify online or in the app for “Music to read a blog by”. Each of the entries has something to do with the blog. Sometimes the reference is obvious;…
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Brocade
Collection: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Apparently brocade, that opulent and maximalist fabric, is making a comeback… This article from Architectural Digest explains how the fabric, once the exclusive property of royalty, nobility and the extremely wealthy, is being used in fashion and interiors, and there are new innovations being trialled…
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Horst in the library
A new book has been added to the textile library: Horst, Photographer of Style. Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann was born on August 14, 1906 in Weißenfels-an-der-Saale in Germany. He studied design and carpentry, and architecture in Paris where he met he met George Hoyningen-Huene, the preeminent photographer at French Vogue. Huene became Horst’s mentor, inviting…
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The Spotify playlist
The blog is accompanied most weeks by a curated Spotify playlist. The entries on the list have something to do with the blog articles. Half the fun is finding out what that link could be! Top hear the list click on the player above or head to Spotify.com and search for “Music to read a…