Coventry is known for a number of things, not all of them complimentary – where you’re ‘sent to’ when no one wants to talk to you, Lady Godiva and her naked horse ride, Sir Basil Spence’s Cathedral, Europe’s first pedestrian shopping area (both the result of the extensive bombing of the city in the second…
Month: July 2016
The Art of the Bundle
Sitting on the sofa watching the other half of Modern Eccentrics wrap his bundles before they are submerged in the dye pot, I was struck by how beautiful these transient objects are. They’re seen by no one as they are just part of the process, so we’ve decided to share some of our bundle images…
Made You Look: Dandyism And Black Masculinity
As a teenager growing up in St Andrews in the eighties, The Face was my introduction to so many things – one of my favourite bands New Order, the photographer Arthur Tress (his image ‘Hermaphrodite behind Venus and Mercury’ is burnt into my consciousness) and indeed the idea of style itself. It was also my…
Bowie/Collector – Sotheby’s Preview Exhibition
On his 69th birthday, on the 8th of January this year, David Bowie released the album ‘Blackstar’. I bought it immediately and spent the weekend listening to it. I thought it a strange and beautiful work, ambitious, experimental and intriguing. And then days later he was dead and the album was suddenly reassessed by the…
The Quest for Darkness – achieving Black with Natural Dyes
I hadn’t realised that some people found it difficult to achieve a depth of black in natural dyed fabrics, until I was showing some of my WIP samples to fellow makers. I’ve previously managed to achieve lovely greys by using rusted wire on silk, before natural dyeing, in two separate processes. With the fabric I…
Scott Thornley at Le 15 ter Galerie Méli-Art, Gourdon
I’ve been a wee bit quiet this week, as I’m in the Lot in south west France for a break with my sister and her family. Not many exhibitions to review or natural dying workshops going on here, or so I thought. It’s an area that I know reasonably well, having been here two or…
Textile Foundation 2016 Part 2 – The Exhibition
Before the Private View last Wednesday of Morley College‘s Textile Foundation 2016 Exhibition, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to see the show before it opened. For this final exhibition, the students are given free reign to showcase their talents and explore their interests. This year the subjects ranged form the idea of the Palimpsest to the view from…
Textile Foundation 2016 Part 1 – Private View
Last Wednesday was the Private View for Morley College‘s highly successful Textile Foundation course. With slightly fewer students compared to last year’s intake, each artist had a little more space at the Morley Gallery to make their mark. That all changed of course on the evening of the opening, when the gallery was full to…
Peter Jones: The Small Things Matter
On Monday morning, I roused myself as I used to and hopped on my bike for a cycle to Clifford Chance on Upper Bank Street, Canary Wharf. I was heading down to see this year’s Annual International LGBT Art Exhibition. This is the ninth year Clifford Chance have hosted a global exhibition across 8 offices…
Modern Eccentrics 