Chesterfield College 2014 Arts Festival

 Artwork from across Art and Design departments.

Chesterfield College 2014 Exhibition My exhibit

 My exhibit is based on connections. It explores a the process of connection a range of different materials and ways of forming new links. mainly weaved and knitted based, the overall work was very time consuming, I created daily targets for myself and focused all my efforts on my work, which in result I felt i'd grown an attachment to my work, creating a personal connection, a sentimental value that only I could understand and others could appreciate.

Ai Weiwei at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

“The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.” -
Ai Weiwei

Exhibited in YSP 18th century chapal which has recenlty been revonvaed to a high standard is Ai Weiwei's iron tree, 2013, the exhibition also clevery forms a connection between father and son, acommpaning the piece are poetry reading by Ai Qing, Ai Weiwei’s father.

The 6 metre tall iron sculpture presented outside the chapel suggests the idea of freedom, I liked it's situation when i visited, being outside trees are naturally free to grow and live to their fullest, whereas if it were confined in a space it could not bloosm

which relates to freedom in someways, such as outside brings alot more oppertunities then if you stay inside.

The sculpture also represents the individual within society, whilst also connecting with the history and character of the building.

Making connections (wires)

A response to visual artist Judith Scott I felt inspired by her wrapping of materials.

in this piece I feel it is interesting to see the wires individually, compared to Scott's work, she wraps materials around objects to hide and conceal them, I wanted to extract the materials and see them in a more simplistic way.

The loose, dynamic shapes achieved flow well together, intertwined and overlapping eachother  
forming a well bonded connection. the aesthetic of the frame compliments the subtle tones of the wire
as to be not to overpowering but prominent enough to make an impact.

I am interesting testing out materials and objects and pushing their limits
to another level, I feel this piece has helped me to see the range of different qualities  
that wires can produce when combined.
  

Judith Scott 'Outsider Art'

Judith Scott was born in 1943
and died in 2005. Throughout her life she was isolated by down syndrome and profound deafness.

Scott was placed in Creative Growth, the first center in the world dedicated to supporting artists with disabilities.

Scott was slow starting, lacking interest for a couple of years till she was introduced to fiber art  were her passion textiles begun.

Her work reflects little cultural input being souly the expression of her creative mind. She challenges the idea of art, not having any formal education, or qualifications, or aspiration to be an artist,
she simple gathers materials and turns them into sculptures
without planning.

It has been called outsider art, suggesting that you don't need to be an artist, to create art,
which I find an interesting concept, I think their is alot of pressure for artists to create a good
piece of art, plan carefully and logically and consider costs and funding for Scott all of these aspects wouldn't matter to her.

She would go around and collect and take jewelery, objects and anything she could find to conceal in one of her pieces. her would is very tactile and rustic. I find the connections made between each material and the way they are wrapped and combined together really interesting, there is a careful aspect to Scott's work which I like.

I find her a very inspiring artist and I take alot of influece from her way of working and hope to incorporate elements into my own studies.

Maxine Bristow

Maxine Bristow

Textile artist

Bristow’s work is inspired by repetitive patterns found in everyday objects and the plans and organisation she makes before starting a piece.

Her work shows the valuable of simple objects and materials that are around us, with them providing inspiration as usually seen as an unlikely source.

Bristow’s work shows extreme discipline and dedication, creating one piece with 1,475 handmade button holes setting her self a goal of 88 buttonholes a day to archive her deadline. She shows that order, being patient and quiet can be expressive.

Often Bristow uses weaving and embroidery in her work, she finds interest in functional objects that she comes across in charity shops, such as sheets pillowcases and handkerchiefs.

Exploring woven textiles: Ann Sutton

Ann Sutton is a textile artist, designer and author of textile based books. Sutton is best known for her woven  sculptures. I was interested in Sutton's piece 'Woven Bedcover, 1984' for it's interlinked chain like formation, also the  chromatic tones of descending colours, their vibrant aesthetic captured my attention.
                                                          
The sculptural shapes Sutton creates are interesting,
they process a very loose and tactile nature, the joining of each piece compliments each other well along with the slightly fade pastel colours          

Sutton's work has influenced me to reflect on my own work and consider aspects such as colour and sculpture. I hope to experiment with using a combination of colours and test different outcomes.