karen nicol

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

After such a long time away from blogging, I'm delighted to return to talk about Karen Nicol'swork. Without wishing to sound like a stalker, I have admired her for so many years and have dog-eared cuttings of her home (shared with collage artist Peter Clark) from something like 10 years ago.

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

The qualities I love about her work are obviously, the exceptional skill and creativity, but also the continual surprise. I've spent years waiting to see more and anticipating what may come next and at times found it hard to find information or images. For those such as myself that made it a slightly exciting chase and nowadays thanks to technology we are able to gather a great deal of information on artists and creators that would have previously had little public profile.

image of 'Blossom' kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

Karen studied at Manchester and the Royal College of Art and later went on to teach at the RCA, Bath, Brighton and London College of Fashion.

image of 'Blossom' kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

She knew she wanted to work in fashion so started her career in Paris. There she had the fortuitous meeting of a woman called Uta Raasch, who she worked with for 15 years and who taught her all about the fashion industry. (click here for uta raasch couture)

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

She has worked in close collaboration with fashion designers such as Chanel Couture, Givenchy, Matthew Williamson, Julien Macdonald, Chloe, Marc Jacobs.. and the list goes on. She works with designers for whom the process is an open one where she can have creative input and work in true collaboration.

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

I was lucky enough to go to the private view for the work currently on show at the Marylebone Hotel, Welbeck St, W1 (running until 8th May). The work is technically brilliant as you would expect and needs to be studied at close quarters to really get full appreciation of the details. But the thing that struck me, as has about her work previously, is the fluidity and painterly quality. It is ironic that the work is made of many thousands of technically brilliant stitches, yet it has the fluidity that is achieved from great sweeping brushstrokes. Part of her success has been her incredible versatility and you can see that here in her personal work too.

photo by elvis robertson with apologies for reflections and lack of focus

As the private view was busy, I went back to get a closer look at the work. An enthusiastic hotel worker instantly wanted to talk to me about the work. She told me how each member of staff at the hotel has a different favourite, due to perhaps the bears they've seen in Canada, or the tigers or perhaps a family member who likes to stitch, so some more carefully embroidered birds triggered something for them. Each piece triggered different stories from around the world and different family tales which in turn connected the viewers to each other and drew out mutual empathy.

photo by elvis robertson with apologies for reflections and lack of focus

Each of us has a deep-seated connection with stitch and fabric, and hearing these comments reminded me of what a wonderful thing it is to put these textile pieces in a public place to start conversations such as these and bring us together over such varied experiences but such similar intimacies and connections.

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

My personal favourites in the show are Queenie and Big Ben. The two monkeys appear as a positive and a negative of each other. Big Ben a pearly king with 'Queenie' tattooed on his tail. Queenie is of course tattooed with 'Big Ben' on her toe knuckles. The detail of the stitched tattoo's is fascinating as is the fine vintage mother of pearl embellishment on the other.

photo by elvis robertson with apologies for reflections and lack of focus

I suppose the reason I particularly adore these particular two is that as a child I really believed that I would get a pet monkey for my birthday. I loved them. And these two are so deeply connected to each other that I can ponder their romantic story, or struggle, or tragic tale which I imagine due to the passionately expressive look in Queenie's meaningful eyes (see image above)

photo by elvis robertson with apologies for reflections and lack of focus

photo by elvis robertson with apologies for reflections and lack of focus

Following is a question and answer I had with Karen. I think it gives a fascinating insight into the work ethic that lies behind one of our most talented textile artists:

What are your earliest memories of your love of thread or fabric?

My sister and I used to sleep head to tail in a single bed and she had a pink silky nightie and I used to go to sleep rubbing the fabric between my thumb and forefinger…it used to drive her mad.

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

When and how did you start sewing?

My mum made all our clothes and was an embroiderer, milliner, upholsterer etc so my sister and I were always surrounded by it.

When we were about thirteen she made us our own pattern block and said she would buy us fabric from the market but no more clothes and we had to make our own which was brilliant, mine were absolutely thrown together even sellotaping the seams and often the end of rolls so I would put the tape marks where the fabric had been stuck to the print table down the back…wouldn’t it be great to have that irreverence now!

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

Do you have a certain atmosphere in which you like to stitch?

I have a great studio and I love to be alone in it. My husband works next door so we give each other crits all the time (the promise of total honesty even when its unwelcome) Happiness when hand sewing is a good play on the radio or machining to music or story on my headphones

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

What is it that you love so much about the act of pulling thread through fabric?

There is something so calming about it but I just am in awe at the breadth of the subject there is always something new to discover even after all the years I’ve been a it.

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

Who and what are your greatest inspirations?

Probably Alexander McQueen and Galliano but I am inspired by so much, painters, artists, museums, shops, it changes every day, often just simple stuff. I photograph and carry a notebook for hasty little scribbles of everything visual that I like…

I am addicted to flea markets.

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

Is there any one piece of work you're most proud of?

The next one…I’m always hoping

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

Are there any particular people or events that helped you find your way?

'So many, I’ve been incredibly lucky, my husband collage artist Peter Clark who is just brilliant and seems to really believe in me so has continuously made me want to try harder to impress him....my mum as above, Judy Barry from Manchester Art College who was my tutor and now best friend who is so passionate about embroidery and just the joys of seeing.'

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

What advice do you find yourself repeating to students the most?

To be versatile, try to think out of the box, don’t price your work out of the market, keep your eyes open inspiration is all around you…and be irreverent about embroidery!

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

Do you have a 'greatest idol'?

No, changing continuously other than above

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

What are you striving for next?

I would like to be taken seriously in what I’m doing and one day, after a lifetime of trying, I would like embroidery to lose its stigma and be recognized by people other than practitioners as a truly interesting and expansive way of working

image kindly supplied by Karen Nicol

The exhibition of Karen's work is at the Marylebone Hotel, Welbeck St, W1 until May 8th. More of her work can be seen on her website, by clicking here. She is represented by the Rebecca Hossack Gallery.

Her husband is Peter Clark, you can see more of his work by clicking here.

With thanks to Karen Nicol for patience and generous participation for this piece and for her ongoing contribution to textile art, many people will be grateful for her creative inspiration and technical brilliance.

A Little Piece of Mind

square above by Stella McCartney, bottom edge by Giles Deacon

I was recently involved in this amazing charity project; 'a little piece of mind' pulls together the minds of 86 creatives in the form of 6" squares of fabric, each one individually designed or chosen by the contributor.

Artist julie floersch who put together the quilt talks about the process of the quilt's formation -

"incorporating all the different colours and images into one piece was like solving a puzzle. I began by organising colour combinations surrounding certains squares that could not be interrupted. The unending repetition that I create in my patterns allows each little world to interact with another creating all sorts of different colour combinations and experiences. The denim and the Liberty fabrics run throughout the entire quilt, acting as a mediator where the worlds intersect."
Mark Noe of Marque Creative:

"Craft
For a few years now, we have been tracking the infiltration - often very positive - of modern techniques into craft forms. Quiltmaking is one area that has been at the forefront of this with young designers such as julie floersch exploring, pushing and redefining the language of the medium. While these designers are forward thinking, a traditional and historic aspect still remains through the use of natural materials and an insistence on age-old hand craft.

Collaboration
Although this exciting tendency is widely acknowledged, no one it seems has been prepared to champion this within the creative industries or on a worldwide, collaborative level. So this idea became an important challenge for us; to take, and then piece together, seemingly disparate influences and inputs to make a coherent, influential output. As an aesthetic philosophy, this has engaged both us and our creative collaborators.

square above - elvis robertson, left edge - Rachel Speed, top edge - Hussein Chalayan, right edge - Jo Wood

The premis was simple.
Leading creatives were asked to supply 'a little piece of mind' in the form of a 6 inch square of fabric. From a diverse array of such contributions by iconos and innovators, floersch has composed a quilt that reinforces the fact that all it takes to make a big difference is a little personal time.

Cause
We then decided to channel both of these two start points towards a more provocative or powerful cause.

Over the past 10 years, the crisis in homelessness has been worsening - almost unrecognised - despite the amazing efforts of organisations such as Shelter across the UK and the Bowery Mission in NYC.
This is a global issue - by 2010, one half of the world's population will be living in urban areas. A lot of the people unable to cope with this process will be dislocated and displaced. The problem will also be exacerbated, in the more developed countries, because two of the most chronic consequences of the curent economic crisis will be savagely deteriorating housing and employment markets.

top square above - fred butler

Generally, all of us should accept that we, our friends and our colleagues, live a relatively privileged life. A 'little piece of mind' implies only making a small creative contribution. This can be effectively converted into funds and then into action. However, 'a little piece of mind?' provokes a question about whether we could do more."

- Mark Noe, marque creative

Hussein Chalayan:
"I contributed a selection of printed fabric. My reason for participating in the project was based on the feeling that all of us working in the creative industries live charmed lives. ALPOM gave me the opportunity to offer support to a worthy project attracting attention to a problem that is not glamorous or sexy. I was especially shocked to read recently that the number of homeless women and children in the UK has risen 80% in the last five years, in a developed society in the 21st century this is totaly unacceptable."

Rupert Sanderson:
"I contributed an interesting swatch of leather from the archive in my factory. It combines photography and leather-making - two of my passions. With regards to the whole 'a little piece of mind' project, I think quilting is a highly emotive way of bringing attention to the plight of disadvantaged and marginalised people."

square above - Temperley, bottom edge - Kate Moss, top edge - Richard Nicoll

Temperley:
"A patchwork of emerald green chiffon with saphire blue and silver flower detail bead work, adding texture and 3D interest to the patch with vibrant uplifting colours."

My own square (detail above) was a simple image of a moth, embroidered using hair. I chose this image because of the irritation a moth causes me as a quilter.. the fear it strikes in me when I find them in the summer near my precious collection of fabrics. They make their homes in cupboards and eat into my treasured cloths. I'm lucky to have the luxury of this trivial problem. I make exclusive items, including bedding, for beautiful environments. Beautiful, safe, cosy, warm and dry homes. Those without homes might encounter the same irritating moths, eating through their not-so exquisite bedding. Piles of old bedding that we see in doorways from one day to the next. Moths don't eat hair, so I chose to represent them with that.

It's a small connection, literally the first thing that went through my mind, so it was 'a little piece of (my) mind'.

links below for charities, organisers, press coverage and julie floersch
shelter
the bowery mission
marque creative
topshop
vogue online
liberty
julie floersch - work
julie floersch - blog

written afterwards (knit)

The written afterwards website shows an exciting and challenging body of work created by yoshikazu yamagata and kentaro tamai using fashion as a versatile tool for communication.
The well-known 'my town in my home' knitted houses were created in collaboration with textile artist mafuyu. This stimulating collaboration confronts what we expect from craft and fashion. Here we see the house as an item of clothing - that which defines us, a huge building softened and reduced, becoming something to play with or within, as we might have done as children....
Of course, they are intended to be used as fashion or as toys and were featured in the children's book elaelaopa. This is a considered approach to fashion as identity... but also as play, escape, warmth and comfort.Working in collaboration with other artists prompts the creation of work that is refreshingly wide-ranging.
In contrast to the knitted houses, here we see a deceptively complex piece of craftsmanship in an ethereal and delicate, intricately worked lace panel.
Using the panel in the forms of art, installation and fashion is testament to the imagination and adaptability of the item. Crossover is of course what so many artists do, be it illustration, film, photography, craft and so on - why not allow the pieces themselves to be multi-faceted.
Their brave approach to collaboration leads to an impressive adaptability across their many ideas and applications.
The clothing items they have produced are equally well constructed, challenging and considered.
'the everyone's new clothes' (pictured below) was a piece of work based on Hans Christian Andersen's the Emperor's New Clothes. Here they work ever-playfully with notions of fashion and beauty, turning the gaze back on the viewer by using industry players as the models.
Showing first in London in 2005, yoshikazu yamagata, took prominent fashion personalities and imagined what they might wear under their clothes. Then he presented them with their alter-egos on the catwalk.
The piece was later shown (above) to the Hinohara kindergarten in a Tokyo village, performed by dance troupe the bambiest.

I first came across 'my town in my home' via selvedge. It was also recently featured on bloesem.

Sandra Backlund (knit)

photo peter farago

archive - photo peter farago

perfect hurts - photo andreas kock

Sandra Backlund is one of life's true originals. Her work is without trend - there is no 'this season' or 'last season', it appears that each new collection is a new direction of almost scientific experimentation for her. This brave exploration mixed with (spades of) natural talent makes her work unique and always exciting. Not being influenced, following her own imagination, travelling into her own mind... takes her on daring journeys and maintains absolute honesty. Surely this is the hardest challenge for any artist or designer - to keep moving in new directions and to be truly original.

photo - peter farago

body skin and hair collectin - photo - calle stoltz, lundlund

This is meticulously crafted work that employs an exciting combination of art, sculpture, craft and as she states herself... therapy. I happen to believe that we creative types are prompted to do what we do because of some sort of compulsion. So when I heard Sandra Backlund's views on knitting I was delighted.

current collection - photo - ola bergengren, adamsky

Having experimented with knitting at college, she constructs her pieces/garments sometimes in sections - an almost sculptural approach from a variety of materials. Sometimes the garments appear to have a foot in history and a foot in the future.. opera, sci fi and couture simultaneously.

don't walk collection - photo - denise grunstein

I came across Sandra Backlund on the
Living in Andyland blog