1. Drawing the Rain #2 (brooch), Shin, Hea-lim, Korea Craft & Design Foundation

1. Drawing the Rain #1 (brooch), Shin, Hea-lim, Korea Craft & Design Foundation

One of the advantages of being in a collective is group trips to exhibitions with like-minded friends. One such trip was to the Craft Council International Art Fair for contemporary objects, Collect, held from 22-25 February 2018.  seam members Angie Parker, Joy Merron, Kate Bond, Linda Row, Gill Hewitt and me, Penny Wheeler all had a great time, being inspired by the work, seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

2. ‘Moon (wall piece)’, Park Sung Wook 2015, countless slip coated stoneware pieces in iron frame, 90 x 90 x 3 cm

2. ‘Moon (wall piece)’ detail, Park Sung Wook 2015, countless slip coated stoneware pieces in iron frame

I didn’t realise how similar our tastes are until I asked everyone for their top six picks from the show… I wonder what came first: our particular sensibility that made us gravitate to textiles, or that working with textiles honed our taste in a particular way?

Not so many textile pieces in the show (as usual), colour used sparingly but lots of texture – our top ten picks from Collect are¹:

1. Exquiste brooches by Hea-lim Shin (top)
2. Park Sung Wook’s abstract wall piece that looks stunning both from a distance and from close up (above)
3. Poetic tapestries marking time through Jilly Edwards’ studio window – unusually Jilly encouraged us to touch (and check out her gorgeous book Joy) (below)
4. Mella Shaw’s heart-breaking piece on plastics in the ocean
5. Seo-Yeon Park’s porcelain tableware based on colours and shapes from Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings
6. Beautifully subtle still life works celebrating the skill, dexterity and the creative problem solving of people who make things Emily Jo Gibbs
7. Gorgeous indigo monochrome by Eun Lee
8. Oma Space contemplate the three stages of life with stunning textures
9. Kazuhito Takadoi understated, meditative object beautifully formed from natural materials
10. Mystical creatures captured in glass jars by Steffen Dam

3. Jilly Edwards at her table of gorgeous tapestries forming her work Elements

3. Elements (detail), Jilly Edwards

4. Harvest (detail) 2017, Mella Shaw, ceramic, 100 x 100 cm

5. Seon-Yeon Park slip cast porcelian tableware based on colours and forms seen in abstract paintings by American artist Georgia O’Keeffe

6. ‘Portrait of a Jeweller 2018’, Emily Jo Gibbs,

7. ‘Sea 2017 #1 & 2’ Lee Eun, blue and white porcelain on canvas, 171.5 x 58 x 5 cm

8. ‘Numen (2018)’ detail, Oma Space, mixed textiles, 7 x 3 m

8. ‘Numen (2018)’ detail – birth, Oma Space, mixed textiles, 7 x 3 m

9. ‘Bunki (Diverge)’ Takadori Kazuhito, hawthorn twigs and waxed linen twine 140 x 80 x 30 cm

10. ‘Jar collection’, Steffan Dam, blown and cast glass

Other notable objects and artists at Collect were Pierre Renart’s elegant twist of a table, silk ikat hangings by Jun Tomita, the bamboo structures of Chikuusai IV Tanabe, beaded works by  Ntombephi Ntobela, beautiful use of an unusual natural material – acacia thorns by Ran Adler, gorgeously rumpled fabric-like pots by Ranti Bam, and who can resist (and be slightly disturbed by) a bird with a train? by Afke Golsteijn (if you are of squeamish disposition don’t follow the link).

Research doesn’t end with just taking a photo of your favourite pieces. I have found that it is always rewarding noting the names of the artists and digging further. A quick google of the artist names reveals more exciting work and insights into their thinking. For example: Ntombephi Ntobela is the leader of the all female collective, South African Ubhule Art Collective. This collective supports women to develop their skills in beading and become financially independent – how great is that?

If you like any of the works do check out the links I have added.
Did you visit Collect this year? What were your favourite pieces?

Penny Wheeler

Jun Tomita silk ikat hangings

‘Dynamic Emergence from the Sea’, Ntombephi Ntobela 2016, hand-beaded textile, 75 x 75 cm

Ran Adler’s organic assemblage

‘Industrial Revolution 3’, Afke Golsteijn 2009, taxidermy bird, iron, textile, embroidery, silk, beads 250 x 200 x 200 mm

1. Note: If you hover over an image with your mouse the caption will pop-up, and if you click on an image you can see it full size, with its caption, in a slide show.