Knitting and Stitching Show

Well, for some unknow reason, uploading images became easy to do this morning! Almost instantly, the pictures popped up in the composition screen. So, now I can continue writing about some of the great things I saw in Birmingham last weekend.

Above, left: A selection of batiks on display in a booth of International Batik artists.
Above, right: James Hunting's Tattooed Man embroidery. James was one of the few males in the entire trade show. His biography included years in the fashion industry, teaching in the universities, and a strong desire to stitch with passion. He is only five years younger than am I and recently returned to earn an advanced degree in Textiles. His skill in figurative drawing was apparent in all his work. He was quite pleasant in conversations and had the guts to include homosexual poses and male nudes. These were all quite beautifully done and were displayed with rightful pride. Mathias and I were both impressed.

Yesterday I posted a single picture. It was an incredible outfit created by Angelique Ward, a graduate and award winner of the knitting textile courses. I wanted to continue but couldn't upload any of these shots, so now I'll continue!

This detail shot is part of a unique creation of knitted "rags" and strips of burlap and cotton by Aber Nasher. It is called "Body". The statement was great. Aber was influenced by bones and movement and believes that one's body outght to control a garment instead of the other way around. I couldn't agree more, though I don't think the outfit was one I'd wear with this notion in mind! In fact, the knots might hinder sitting or wearing a coat and would likely catch on things one would pass while walking. Still, the texture was most wonderful and the garment would certainly take viewer's eyes off of the wearer's body type! It definitely looked comfortable!

The photo to the left is of two outfits by Pamela Leung. The display was called "Sushi" for obvious reasons. It was a clever way of using knitting for artistic interpretation. What I likely best about this idea was how wearable and functional the garments were while still being totally obvious about the source of inspiration.

To the right is Maggi Rowell's "Nurturing Mother's Angst" and "Molly Coddle". To me, this was the most artistic of the selections. Both pieces weren't meant to function as garments at all but as artistic statements. They attracted much attention. It was fun to watch the reaction on the faces of the many elderly, very conservative ladies as they wandered through this exhibition!

I very much liked Jo Knell's "Apocaphypse Tartan", though I have to admit I just didn't get the reference to a tartan! Of course, I'm not Scottish and have no true understanding of what a tartan is or can be skewed into! The dress, however, was absolutely great. The statement talked about the inspiration coming from recent news about the bird flu. Ideas about the end of the world also figured into the garment that was meant to clad rock stars. This worked. The bird details were there, especially in the photos of a model wearing the piece. The outfit was created with skill and the result looked fun to wear. I would don it for any art opening myself!