The Incredible Very Talented Mister Finch

“Scraps of thread, fabric and paper are stitched and pulled into fairytale creatures looking for new owners and worlds to inhabit. They hide in the woods, behind masks, some have died along the way and are buried under spoon lockets. Finch works alone and makes everything himself by hand in a studio full of books, glass jars and naughty cats.”

I am a person who is loves looking at art, insects, animals, Victoriana and fiber creations. I discovered the world of Mister Finch’s insects and other fabulous creatures today on Zite.com. Mister Finch is a sewing man from Leeds in Yorkshire. He creates these dazzling fairy tale like creatures from beautiful old fabric. He says his inspirations come from nature. The life cycles of birds, insects, and flowers are particularly interesting to him. As he is from a country rich in folklore, witches, cats, hares, and other creatures take part in his creations.

He likes recycled fabric like velvet curtains, an old wedding dress and old aprons because he can sew his stories into the fabric and into the creatures he creates. And he likes cats. Read more about Mister Finch oh his blog, My Name is Finch and on his Facebook page.

SURFACE PATTERN DESIGNER AND TEXTILE ARTIST CHLOE WOOD

Surface design by Chloe Wood. Chloe Wood is a Surface Pattern Designer, Illustrator and Textile Artist based in London. In 2008 Chloe graduated from Cardiff School of Art & Design with a 2:1 Hons degree in Contemporary Textiles and Surface Design with a specialism in Print. You can see and read more here.

Art from Folded Sheets of Paper

Simon Schubert is an artist who lives and works in Cologne, Germany. Born in 1976, he studied Liberal Arts and Sculpture at the Duesseldorf Academy of the Arts under the tutelage of Irmin Kamp.

In his paper art series, Schubert meticulously folds sheets of paper, creating a very shallow relief or bas-relief. When the lighting is right, the paper comes to life with depth and contrast. Each ‘sculpture’ is made from a single sheet of paper using only creases and folds. No additional colour is added to the works.

Schubert cites his inspiration most often comes from literature, philosophy, film and fine art. He said a defining moment of inspiration came from the work of Joseph Beuys, which opened Schubert’s eyes that art could be, ‘more than just something decorative and influence into life directly’.

More here

ROC The Yarn Bomb

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Glamping: Glam it While Camping

Glam it up while camping! Hey, this is the new way to go camping, it's called Glamping. We have this book on order in the Arts Division. So if you do hair rolls, lipstick and heels while camping this book is for you.

"Glamping, or glamour camping, one of the MaryJane's pet concepts, is about the juxtaposition of rugged and really pretty, grit and glam, diesel and absolutely darling."-The New York Times

NN ArtLibrarian@Central

Nathan Vincent: Crochet Artist

Nathan Vincent has a unique talent. He is a crochet artist and crochets objects. He grew up as a pastor’s son in the Midwest. His mother crocheted the family afghans and he asked her to teach him. He then made a bunch of granny squares and after that he taught himself how to knit.

 “My work explores gender permissions and the challenges that arise from straying from the prescribed norms. It questions the qualities of gender by considering what constitutes masculine and feminine. It critiques stereotypical gender mediums by creating "masculine objects" using "feminine processes" such as crochet, sewing, and appliqué. "

Nathan is really intrigued by the gender norms that society sets. So what if a boy if a boy wants to crochet or a girl wants to work on cars. So he started crocheting these ideas into tangible art to express his feelings and people took notice of the statement he was making. Nathan has received numerous prizes for his work and his art has been featured in galleries and in the blogosphere. 

You can read interviews with him here and here.

Nathan Vincent lives and works in New York City and received a BFA from the SUNY, Purchase.  His work has exhibited in museums and galleries in the US and has received attention in international publications.  He has been highlighted on several television programs and received an award as a finalist from the West Prize in 2008.