Tag: art

  • Update on the new studio

    The textile hub in Greymouth Māwhera is taking shape… After a few weeks the studio is now looking more like a working space. There is a large tables, standing height, to use for printing and art, a worktable and a meeting space. Shortly there will be sewing machines and, by the end of the year,…

  • The Spotify playlist

    Each week the blog articles are accompanied by a curated Spotify playlist that you can hear using the player above or by going to Spotify and searching for “Music to read a blog by”. The playlist entries each have something to do with the articles on the blog, sometimes very obviously and sometimes more subtly.…

  • Snowshill Manor

    For those who are concerned that they own too many things, here is someone who took this passion for collecting to colourful and wondrous extremes! Charles Wade, a trained architect turned artist and illustrator bought Snowshill Manor, after returning from the First World War, to house his ever-expanding collection. Over the years until he died…

  • The Spotify playlist

    Each week a curated list of audio is made on Spotify to go along with the blog entries. The playlist includes old and new music in lots of different genres, and each piece is chosen to reflect something on the blog. To listen click on the player above or search for “Music to read a…

  • Samba!

    Brazil is known for its vibrant cultures and the samba is amongst the most well-known; Samba de Roda, a festival event from Bahia, is recognised as a unique art form in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Samba derives from the colonial period in Brazil’s history. At its foundation are the traditions and cultures of enslaved…

  • The extraordinary music from Malaita

    Disclaimer: Please be aware that some of the links in this article may show images of human remains, currently in museum collections. The people of the Southern part of Malaita, the largest land in the Solomon Islands, are called the ‘Are’are. Until an ethnomusicologist called Hugo Zemp from le Musée de l’Homme in Paris recorded…

  • Andora

    Ten years ago, an auction of Soviet space memorabilia was offered for sale by auction. The collection belonged to Andora, a German artist who, becoming fascinated by space and its exploration, completed cosmonaut training. Andora painted a Proton rocket, at the request of the Russian space agency, that was shot into space in 1992. A…

  • Walter Oltmann’s Wire Tapestry

    The South African artist, Walter Oltmann, is known for his exploration of prehistory through experimentation with materials. Oltmann uses various materials, including cloth, thread, wire and paint, to reveal hidden stories. The studio collection has an embroidery of a coelacanth, a favourite subject for the artist, and the art collection has two watercolours of people…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a playlist is curated to go along with the blog. The pieces on the playlist refer to articles on the blog, sometimes obviously and sometimes more obliquely. To listen, click on the player above. If you have a paid subscription to Spotify you will hear all the pieces uninterrupted. Free subscriptions will have…

  • Data and textiles

    One of the joys of a textile practice is learning about the different uses to which textiles are put. Data visualisation is one of those. Data is a current trend in textile art. The use of cloths and fabrics, threads and yarns, embroidery, knitting, weaving, patchwork and quilting, is allowing new viewpoints to be seen.…