'Archi-textiles' at the Cardiff School of Architecture (the most overdue blog post in the world....... )

This has probably got to win an award for the most overdue blog post......

In April/May this year I was delighted to be invited to contribute to a 'Vertical Studio' module at the Welsh School of Architecture, where first and second year students work together in groups of ten on a short 'out of the ordinary' project.

I worked with Dr Wayne Forster to devise a 'mini-Bauhaus' series of workshops whereby the students were encouraged to analyse the cornerstone's of textile design - colour, texture, pattern and structure. It was hugely interesting to see how well they responded to the briefs and they produced extraordinary work of real quality. It was particularly heart-warming for me to see how much they enjoyed the weave workshop! Half thought I might have recruited a few to switch to the textile degree I teach on in the West Wales School of the Arts as some of them were so enthusiastic!!!

After the four workshops the students had just a few days to each complete a 'wonder wall' conceptual structure for a final exhibition. They were asked to consider transparency, opacity, reveal/conceal, and the various structure/colour/texture/pattern elements covered in the workshops. I was blown away by what they produced in such a short space of time without compromise on scale, ambition and conceptual weight. Amazing stuff.

I took a huge number of photo's recording their progress. Its hard to edit them down to share with you on this blog, but anyway, here is a small selection showing what they produced in just four weeks....

(NB: please respect the creators copyright of the work and remember to not reproduce any of the images without asking permission - thank you)

The Architextiles team, sitting in front of the first body of work exploring colour theory.

Textural studies:

The weave workshop:

The final exhibition of the ten 'wonder-wall' structures.....

Origin 2009 photo's!

Had another fantastic week at Origin last month - my third successive year exhibiting there, and the best yet in terms of sales. As always I met lots of lovely people, and was especially delighted to meet again with past buyers of my work.

The 'miniature' pieces went down particularly well - completely sold out of them by the Friday!

I was also thrilled to find that an image of one of my sculptures featured prominently in the Origin catalogue so big thanks to the Crafts Council for that!

Cardiff Design Festival Awards

Have got an awful lot of updating of blog to do! Been so much going on over the last couple of months, it's been hard to catch up with myself! Anyway, over the next couple of days I hope to update you all on things that have been happening for me..... got my marketing hat on today!

Firstly, last month I had the rather lovely commission to make 12 Awards for the Cardiff Design Festival.

All the same structure of converging threads of cotton and silk, each award was in a different colour, thus making a real impact when displayed together, but obviously still full of life individually.

Anyway, there seemed to be a lot of happy Award recipiants! I was particularly delighted the Kutchibok Design won one..... as they are the lovely designers responsible for my website. A much deserved prize for them.

Origin: The London Craft Fair at Somerset House

Origin: The London Craft Fair at Somerset House

Week Two: 13-18^th October 2009, Stand E1

For the third successive year I am delighted to have once again been selected to exhibit The Resonate Collection of textile art at Origin 2009.

Please do pop along to see me if you're in London next week. Details are as follows:

• Tuesday to Sunday 10am - 6pm
• Late closing Thursday - open until 9pm
• Last admission 5:15pm (Thursday: 8:15pm)

Somerset House
Strand
London
WC2R 1LA

Ticket prices:

Full price single entry	£10
Concession single entry	£8
Season Pass (unlimited entry)	£15
Concession Season Pass (unlimited entry)	£12
Under 12 years	Free
Guest with registered disabled visitor	Free

An illustrated catalogue is included in the price of admission.

For any further details, please check out the Crafts Council Origin website:

http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/origin09/

Look forward to seeing you there!

New work!

In preparation for the forthcoming Origin show in October, I have been very busy making new work. Lots of new techniques as well as some reworked older ones.....

Thought you might enjoy some pictures to get you in the mood for Origin. By the way, its week 2 that I'm exhibiting in, so mark it in your diaries folks! Really hope to see you there.

YSH London TEN exhibition

I'm delighted that to invite you to come and see some brand new work at the YSH London Ten exhibition next week, part of the London Design Festival. I'm exhibiting alongside some fantastic textile artists and designers in a great venue. I'll be at the show on the first day (Monday) so let me know if you can make it along! Hope to see you there!



YSH Press Release:


Yshlondon.com presents Ysh London Ten :
An innovative Textiles, Fashion and Interiors exhibition featuring Ten of the best UK-based designers, artists and recent graduates. Held at the exclusive Westbourne Studios, London from the 21st of September to the 25th 10am to 6pm, come and view these ten leading designers and artists amongst the amazing exhibition space of Westbourne Studios.

Concetta Gallo / Berit Greinke / Arantza Vilas / Pippa Caley / Marie Molterer / Laura Thomas / Ella Robinson / Kitty Joseph / Chloe Scadding / Debbie Smyth

Ysh London will also be exhibiting street fashion photographs from contributors based in London, Paris, Berlin, New York, Tokyo and Shanghai, and www.Yshlondon.com will be online at the exhibition for visitors to try out.

Exhibitors are hosting a pop-up shop containing amazing take-me-home treats; after shopping at our pop-up shop, feel free to relax in the member’s only plush Westbourne Studio’s bar afterwards!

Free admittance
Westbourne Studios, 242 Acklam Road, London, W10 5JJ
Tube; Westbourne Park - Hammersmith and city line
Bus; 28, 31 and 328

Sense Art Fair, London,

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update to remind you that I'll be in London this coming weekend exhibiting at the Sense Art Fair. I'll be showing a range of my Resonate sculptures but also some brand new miniature pieces starting at £9.50. They measure 5x5x2cm.



Details are as follows:

http://sensesummerartfair.tumblr.com/

DATE:
Private View 24 July 2009
Friday 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Main Show 25 & 26 July 2009
Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 5:00pm

TICKETS:
Register for your free private view ticket:
http://sensesummerartfair.eventbrite.com/

CONTACT:
jhanne[at]senseworldwide.com
debbie[at]senseworldwide.com

DETAILS:
You are invited to a Summer Art Fair. You can browse and buy a selection of art pieces made by members of the Sense Network.

The Sense Network is a collaboration of creative thinkers and doers from around the world.

The idea came about as the perfect vehicle to promote the idea of the Sense Network and the Sensers themselves. The idea is simple. This show will be a platform for artists on the Sense Network to showcase their work.

Hope to see you there!

Ashes Vessel

As mentioned in an earlier blog post, I was recently commissioned to design and make a celebratory vessel to commemorate the Ashes coming to Cardiff for the first time. On Thursday 9th July the vessel was presented by the Welsh Assembly Minister for Sport, Alun Ffred Jones to Dr John Bannon, director of Cricket Australia, at a media reception at Cardiff Castle.

The Ashes Vessel, was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government in partnership with the Arts Council of Wales and Safle - public art Wales. The vessel takes its inspiration from the spin of a cricket ball and will not only be a commemoration of the first test match to take place in Wales, but also a symbol of friendship between Wales and Australia. The vessel will then be displayed in the prestigious Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

This commission is the first piece of work that I have made that moves away from my previous geometric forms into a more fluid aesthetic. The vessel which measures 55x18cm, contains 33 taut, twisted hand woven ribbons in gold Lurex and black cotton. As the ribbons cast their shadows on the surface below, the layered twists and turns have dramatic visual impact that changes as you move your vantage point around the piece.

Alun Ffred Jones said:
"The presentation of this artwork means that Australia are guaranteed a trophy whatever happens in the rest of the Ashes series! The form of the piece seems suggestive to me of the flow of a closely-fought test match, with high points at the beginning and end and with twists and turns throughout its course. In that way, I hope that it reflects this first test match in Wales and brings back fond memories of the event for our Australian visitors."

David Alston, Arts Director for Arts Council of Wales, said:
"Arts Council of Wales is delighted to be a part of The Ashes Vessel Artist's Commission. Laura Thomas, an exceptional young artist, who recently received a Creative Wales Ambassadors Award, has created a stunning piece of work which is a fitting reminder of this momentous occasion for Wales."

Below are some stunning photographs taken by Kutchibok Design showing the piece from various angles:







And here we have some photo's from the Media Reception at Cardiff Castle. These photographs are courtesy of Steve Pope of Sporting Wales and must not be reproduced without his express permission. Please contact him directly if you want to use these images: steve@sportingwales.com

Ruthin Craft Centre shortlisted for the Art Fund Prize

The Ruthin Craft Centre has been short-listed for The Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries 2009.

The Art Fund Prize of £100,000 is the largest single arts prize in the UK and recognises and rewards the best new development of the previous calendar year in a museum or gallery, large or small, anywhere in the United Kingdom.

On Front Row Lord Puttnam said, "Ruthin Craft Centre is a lovely surprise, everyone who'd been there was knocked sideways by it, and it got four votes very quickly. It is run by people with amazing commitment and a historical commitment to arts in North Wales – the thing's got it all actually – it is the sort of thing you would like to see replicated in every single region and community in the Country".

There are 4 galleries short-listed and this year one of the eight votes to judge the winner of the Prize will come from the public.

The winner of this People's Choice will count as the eighth vote when the panel of seven judges make their decision on the winner in June.

Please visit The Guardian website and give your support to Ruthin Craft Centre. It really is remarkable gallery for Wales and the UK as a whole to be proud of. Exhibitions of the highest quality are complimented by exceptional publications in a remarkable architectural space. Its true I may be a little biased, but I really do think that it would be an well deserved accolade for the Ruthin team and the contemporary craft sector in general.