Branching Out – Concepts for a Domestic Space, Pop Up Event Saturday 30th November 2013

This is the first of a series of projects I have been developing, which will be staged in a domestic space.

is a collaboration between myself and Katherine Clewett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katherine and I were very excited to be working on this project together; the concept ‘Branching Out‘ of which was born out of a genuine desire to expand the perimetres of our own contemporary practices, whilst also introducing those very organic elements (branches) into the theme as a constant linkage or lineage.  This we felt very much reflected the concerns we bring to our own practices.

Katherine Clewett
Pendant Lighting Sculpture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pop Up Products will include:

Contemporary lighting solutions
Interior objects and interventions
Two and Three dimensional drawings
Paper products for accessorising your interior, and packing your products.

Shellie Holden
Paper packaging for packing your products

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further details including times and location will be posted soonish.

……..Pig Gut Parka

When I was first invited to take part in this ‘experiment’, to recreate the original Native Alaskan Parka,  I was more than intrigued since it would enable me to revisit the collection of Native Alaskan Parkas at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.  I first encountered these examples almost 20 years at the museum and was struck by both the beauty and function of the garments.

In short, the original examples were mainly made from seal gut. The indigenous people would hunt, (sacrifice the mammal), then prepare the raw material , so that it was ready for piecing and stitching together into a simple garment pattern. This would involve different members of the tribes, in their specific roles.

So an opportunity to pay homage to these people, especially the skilled craftswomen involved in the latter stages of this process of making the garment, was a challenge I was keen to take on.

Below is a snapshot of the transformation of the gut from the drying stages to fabric construction, into the final garment.

medusa- -like ribbons drying on the line

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut and pressed fabric in preparation for stitching

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pieced and stitched fabric panel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Machine stitched, treated and couched fabric samples

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pinning, stitching and adding embellishments sourced form Caswell Beech to a part of the fabric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piecing panels together to make the hood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front section of Parka. Detail of drawstring toggle constructed form reclaimed fishing rope

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parka- pieced, machine, and hand stitched with embellishments, and drawstring cuffs, hem and hood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Branded Porka Parka Pouch

 

 

 

 

 

Introducing the…….

During the summer I was involved in a project for Kevin McClouds Manmade Home, broadcast by Optomen Television for Channel four. This involved research and experimentation both at home in Swansea and away, on location in the small town of Watchet, Somerset.  We were fortunate to have glorious weather, and I enjoyed working with Kevin, Will and the team at Optomen greatly.

Apart from being lots of fun, (I did get involved in more than I bargained for), the project had a serious underlying message about sustainability,  ethical textile practice and the value of traditional making skills in contemporary practice.

These are all aspects which I am hugely concerned with in my own practice and so the project was extremely appealing to me.

Without wanting to reveal too much (the episode has not yet been aired), below are a couple of onsite photographs of the initial consultation between Kevin McCloud and myself. I’ll reveal more about the processes and product after the episode has been released this evening. 

loop and chain, to gut and garter, stitch and seam, to make the parka

Thought it was about time I started sharing information about the projects I am involved in, the things that interest me, and the ideas I have.

Included  here are images of my recent work from the group exhibition Everyone Everything held at the Ragged School, Swansea, South Wales

My instillation included a collection of material studies, alongside found objects, reclaimed materials, images and text, which were intended to create a narrative about some of the processes involved in making a piece of work.

This enabled me to extend my experience of working with unconventional materials, as well as to explore ideas related to ethical textile practice and sustainability, which were pertinent to both to this project and my own practice.