Chosen Artist : Sally Hirst

 

Sally Hirst

Sally Hirst is “an artist based in Norwich, UK. Creating works on paper and mixed-media paintings informed by the textures, colours and structures of the urban environment.”

Her work is influenced by the Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi. reflecting the “patina of time” and the decayed qualities of the urban environment.

For her collages Sally Hirst uses opaque and translucent papers she printed herself using various techniques like gelli printing, collagraph printing. As she writes in her artist’s statement “By choosing processes that allow the interplay of both formal and contingent elements I create a tension in the work, between intention and chance, control and accident, past and present, concealing and revealing”.

Sally Hirst is also a qualified teacher and runs a series of online courses for artists of all levels.

 

Although she is not a textile artist, I chose her, because of the theme she works in and the colours she uses in her work. Her work is abstract but I can easily make a connection with industrial environment in it.  Would I have to choose a non textile artist to reproduce the work (in textiles) I think I would choose her.

All pictures copies from Sally Hirst's website

Finished little piece from TSG Summer School

 

I really loved stitching this little piece, I wanted to translate some of that urban industrial feel of decay. 

Using red to add some contrast and "zing" was, I think, the right choice.

Stage 6 - Proposal for resolved embroidered item

 

Experiment with copper mesh

In Luxembourg it is difficult to get hold of copper mesh. I still had some which is a bit stiffer than the one I ordered later. Both of the qualities were ordered with Etsy and come from China.

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I always loved these impressive long tubes. If I was talking about people I would say "they stand, proud and strong. It is quite a simple shape that lends itself perfectly for producing a vase for instance, maybe a series in different sizes..

I did a mock up with copper mesh using some of the techniques of this first Module.

Stitching directly onto the copper wasn't so successful so I first embroidered a piece of polyester organza and applied the wavy shapes produced earlier with a simple running stitch.

The organza was then applied onto the copper mesh with handstitch, using a blue perlé coton thread and running stitch. This adds additional contrast to the piece. The organza got then zapped back partly, revealing more of the copper mesh.

I used photocopies for the shapes meandering around the tube. The original shapes were too big and didn't have the right proportions. I probably would have to use more of the colour blue for these as there isn't enough contrast with the colours of the tube. 

I like the way the shapes add dimension to the tube.

Of course they could be positioned in a different way like in the pic below to form a decorative edge

They could possibly be "inserted" through a slot in the tube like shapes being transformed on a conveyor belt.

For the bottom I could use a coiling technique like shown below. This can be easily attached with stitching. Another possibility would be to use a piece of circular cardboard and cover it with fabric.