The Greater Denton Arts Council is expanding its call for entries for the 30th annual Materials: Hard + Soft Contemporary Craft Competition and Exhibition to now include international artists, thanks to a partnership with the NEA. Recognized as one of the premier craft exhibitions in the country, Materials celebrates the evolving field of contemporary craft and the innovation of artists who push the boundaries of their chosen media. The 2017 juror will be JoAnn Edwards, Executive Director of the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco, California. Submit your work online by September 30. Learn more at dentonarts.com/materialshardandsoft
Tag Archives: craft
When we say goodbye to the things we once loved, we face feelings of loneliness and nostalgia. Artist Caitlin McCormack experienced these feelings when her grandparents passed away, and she found comfort in crochet, a family tradition: “My grandmother was a very talented crocheter, and my grandfather was an exceptionally-skilled bird carver. Something about the receptive process of crocheting seemed to help me to cope with their absence.” McCormack’s delicate crocheted designs of animal skeletons come from death, but she uses them to reconstruct memories from life.
We’ve covered many fantastically strange and unusual embroidered works on our blog over the years, but sporting equipment wins as the most unconventional choice. Cape Town, South Africa based VJ-photographer-textile artist Danielle Clough (who goes by “Fiance Knowles” on instagram) breathes new life into vintage wooden tennis rackets with her decorative embroideries. Her beautifully clever series titled “What a Racket” has nothing to do with tennis however (“Does this count as being interested in sport?” Clough jokes at her website.) Instead, she describes her work as a celebration of color, featuring florals like roses, tulips, and succulents like aloe, sewn onto classic Badminton rackets.
Based in Milford, Pennsylvania, Lindsay Ketterer Gates is interested in fine detail and the creative potential within even the most miniscule and mundane objects. The artist is most well known for her technique of weaving stainless-steel mesh. To counter the harshness of the material, Gates draws on her interest in fashion to create soft, feminine lines in objects such as baskets and teapots. In a recent series, Gates wove pistachio shells into the stainless screening of a small-scaled decorative object in the shape of a Japanese Kimono.