RED is my theme this time.                      

 school students cool sculpture at Sculpture on the Shore

Red is...
 energy,
 danger,
 revolution,
 passion,
 port.

Red...
 inspires!

Red is the most chromatic and the most saturated colour. It has the strongest hue. (Achromatic relates to a colour lacking hue, like white, grey or black.)

There are so many connotations relating to Red, some are considered to be of a negative nature....like "scarlet woman" or "red light" district, yet the Catholic Church still assigns shades of red (and purple and violet) to mark its hierarchy....so, it can't be that bad!  Red has many meanings in many cultural settings.
All colours have a variety of meanings.  Let's just celebrate the fact we see colour in our world, because colour is wonderful.

Rei Kawakubo was known for darkness in her early collections.  It is considered she made black "fashionable", as she constantly worked with it, and still does from time to time.  But, in her 1988 Autumn/Winter collection she came out with Red, which must have been a blast for those lucky enough to go through the experience at the time.

Check out this video.....feel the "Red" experience RK probably wanted to open up to people....remember it's 1988, 26 years ago......and prior to this she had been "Black"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9CNcA52xU8

Now, check out her latest collection, Spring/Summer 2015, an amazing Red concept
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl2zO_pBMz4

"Roses and blood" are the key words Rei K. used to express this collection.  She likes roses, they have often appeared in her collections, in a myriad of creative ways.  The entire collection is Red, apart from one black hood and a clear plastic one.  Much of the work is patent leatherette, I like how she works in that material.  The collection was described as "poppy red" and it made me wonder if there was a connection to this year's commemoration of WW1?

But, RK doesn't do "political", so who would know.

What I look forward to, is how this collection will be delivered in simpler skirts, t-shirts,tops or shirts.  Not everyone agrees with that.

There is a very cool aspect of Red Riding Hood in this collection

It takes me to my Year 13 class and the project they worked on this year...'Design and Construct a Small Fashion Collection'...a big ask, because it required at least 2 ensembles.  Anyway, Red Riding Hood was the theme for one student's collection and I loved one of the images she placed in her Look Book...The ominous woods scene and the model standing there with the hood down over her face is very effective.  The red, white and black of the ensemble are just right in this barren wintry tree scene. 

Well done Lydia!

The Collections

An image from Katie's Look Book.  Her theme was Vintage.

Let's go back to "poppy red"

Poppies are creating an evocative impression at the moment........the astounding exhibition at the Tower of London, for example

Follow this aerial tour, if you haven't already

Earlier on in the year, I ran a workshop at school concerning "5,000 poppies"   A huge field of poppies are being crafted to commemorate the centenary of NZ's involvement in WW1.  The concept was started in Australia, and an Auckland teacher, Lisa Wallace has taken the project on board in New Zealand.  She believes it is our way to do something creative and memorable for the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC Gallipoli landing.  Although it was an Australian project, Lisa decided ANZAC is equally about NZ, so we should have out own display.
I downloaded a simple poppy pattern that was provided on the web site connected with the concept
http://5000poppies.wordpress.com/poppy-patterns/
and got my colleagues cutting and stitching....

 

They look like they might be having fun!
And some of the results.......

Everyone used the same pattern, yet each one is different.  I love how that is always the case.

I am hoping to run a similar workshop with some Yr. 8s, and then I will take all the poppies over to Lisa, so they can become a part of the exhibition.

Here is an amazingly innovative idea for creating a poppy.  Ben McBean, a war veteran who was seriously injured while serving in Afghanistan, conceived the idea to turn London into a giant poppy by running around the capital and using a GPS tracker to colour it in on a map.

Ben completed the outline and then called on members of the public to run around the streets and colour it in.

Each time a runner ran down one of the streets within the outline, they painted it red with a GPS app on their phone.  The result on Google Maps is so cool

What a brilliant idea Ben!

However, not everyone is happy about the red poppy.  The "No Glory in War" Campaign are going to wear white poppies as a sign of their opposition to what they see as a glorification of war.

Check this web site to learn more about this.  

http://noglory.org/  

Back to my theme.

The heart is a very strong image for red.  When I was researching for my "Knits" blog I came across these cool knitted hearts by Kate Jenkins.

Here is my Heart piece, "She wears her heart on her sleeve".  It's about "exposing oneself".

As for red spots/red dots

What's one of the most familiar red spot/dot images?

Japanese civil & state flag

Japanese Naval ensign

In Comme des Garcons' 2007 Spring/Summer collection, Rei K. used the state flag at the centre of the collection. She considered this flag "the purest form of design in existence"  In the collection she had T-shirts created with pertinent words, "radient nature", "simplicity", "nature and beauty" and "grace and nature", printed below the red circles.  Skirts and jackets had red circles very effectively formed within the garments. 

And here is another cool depiction of the red circle

This was prepared for the Milan 2011 International Furniture Fair, which that year was tempered with the knowledge of Japan's nuclear disaster at Fukushima.

The journalist reporting on this exhibit described it as a "most thought-provoking moment...., where a circle of Junya Ishigami's white Family Chairs adorned with a long, one-piece cashmere/cotton garment seemed to hold each other in a group hug. The red circles printed on the cloth covering each chair were potent reminders that part of the rebuilding process of Japan will be from designers reaching out and helping each other with their ideas."

My take, with the Japanese flag for Bexleyheath School Fashion Show

CdG's wonderful "flat" coat, with red circles.

I like the idea of screen printing red dots on felt.

The highly talented Junya Watanabe, has a wonderfully"abstract, graphic and bold"collection for his S/S 2015.

Check out this youtube site to see it in motion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoX2aswS--c

One person described it as, "One bloody good idea, explored deeply with conviction, feeling and an utter disregard for pleasing critics or buyers, just their own feeling of natural instinct and intuition".  Heaps of references come to mind.  I went referencing, but I think the best is found on this very good site "Irenebrination,  notes on architecture, art, fashion & style"  She writes about some amazingly cool  and interesting "stuff".  This site will take you to the references that connect with Junya's S/S 2015 collection.

http://irenebrination.typepad.com/irenebrination_notes_on_a/2014/10/junya-watanabe-ss-2015.html

I am taken with these garments from the collection.  Love the red circles.

To start with, it was the astounding T-shirt sleeves, and I thought, hey, I'm going to revamp a T-shirt of mine!

 I got some suitable fabric, in my case, vinyl.  I think Junya used plastic

Cut some circles, and stitched them together in preparation for the sleeve insertion

Off came the sleeves of the T-shirt, and on went the circular vinyl sleeves...lots of fun...well, the vinyl was a bit of a challenge to sew!

I used the sleeves I had cut off, to add length to the T.  It needed it, to reduce that boxy look..and I like the opposing stripes, adds an interest factor,and I still like that touch of pink around the neck.

Now I'm working on a skirt.  The big circle is actually black, not blue as it looks in this image.

Here is a final connection with ANZAC red poppies.  

                                                           It came from 'Sculpture on the Shore',it's another junior school students exhibit.  I loved it.

I'm going to finish with me, wearing my customised CdG Play T-shirt, on the day we went to Devonport, to take in the Sculpture and the "Knitted Tree".  It connects with my previous "Knit" blog and Knit Graffiti...and really cool!

E. filmed it in video form, a fun way to view it.

As usual, I haven't quite finished yet......an interesting red image has taken my eye...

and led me to..what is this about!

This is a shot from a rather cool fashion film, Walter Van Beirendonck had created for his A/W 14/15 Collection.  The collection was called "Crossed Crocodiles Grow".  The felt helmets are a pertinent aspect of the collection.  I think it is best told via the film...

http://showstudio.com/project/1914_now/film_crossed_crocodiles_growl

...then read this essay....

http://showstudio.com/project/1914_now/essay_crossed_crocodiles_growl

It is good to expand one's visual horizons!

Now, it is

SLTSLTBsigning off.

New blog time, and I want to take up with an aspect of the previous one.....knitting....craft....cool creative stuff!
This is my starting point...........and all the rest flows from it.

An image from the latest British Vogue magazine I have purchased.  It is a Joseph Altuzarra design, (who I am not familiar with) and is described as "a rugged tapestry dress, which is hand-woven in New York and inspired by the bold textiles of American artist Sheila Hicks."  I love it.... An image from this A/W 2014 collection shows it in full front view....

I could be wrong, but this strikes me as a strong inspiration for the dress.  It is from Sheila Hick's 1970s work, which was what inspired Joseph Altuzarra.

This is Sheila Hicks with some of her wonderful textile works

Sheila Hicks is a very exciting textile artist who thinks big! 

www.sheilahicks.com/

Check out her website, and take in the interesting films.  They show Sheila working through massive textile exhibits.  She obviously loves working with fibres/yarns and fabrics, and works to inspire the same passion in others....The following article, from 'Fibre Arts', describes an activity when she worked with junior school children...it's such a lovely concept she shared with the students.  I think she referred to it as Soft Stones.  I love the colours and the yarn wrapping, and that idea of wrapping up memories.

http://monet.unk.edu/mona/schoolservices/hicks_curriculum.htm

If you check out this link , you'll come across a great lesson plan that connects with Sheila's work described in the above article .  It is a great way to encourage children to develop a love, experience, or, simply develop an understanding of textiles...textiles are such a strong aspect of our human history. 

I'm not sure, now, when I first discovered Sheila Hicks, but this fabulous book I have, provides interesting aspects of her work.

 

I love this book.  It was published in 1997, and discusses all sorts of things relating to "cloth".  Take this paragraph from the introduction, for example....

"whole cloth is planar and pliable; it can be given volume.  One can animate cloth: drape, crumple, and fold it; compress, pleat, and tuck it; festoon, swag, and swaddle it; bunt it and cut it; tear, sew, and furl it; applique, quilt, and fabricate it.  Cloth is ductile; it expands and contracts. Cloth can be embellished with stitches, dyes, or print.  Cloth can be burned or scored.  It is for each generation to expand the vocabulary of approaches to cloth." 

Doesn't that sum up cloth, and what you can do with it, just so well. 

I have always liked this huge curtain Sheila created.  That idea of stitching things together is me.

It is titled "Khaki Uniforms Immobilized (United Sates, Europe and Middle East), and was established in 1985-86.  Hicks worked with cotton army shirts from various armies, cut and reshaped them, creating a statement about men and women brought together during wartime.

Want to know any more..check this site

https://www.artsy.net/artist/sheila-hicks

Another artist,Jean Shin, has worked with similar themes.  Here are 3 images of her work.  The one in the middle is titled "Armed".  It is made up of used pieces of American military uniforms, Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard.  Again, it is a great statement about people brought together during a variety of wars, particularly one America has been involved in.  A canopy is formed by seams, collars and cuffs that are stitched together. "Cut outs and Suspended Seams" is on the left and "Dress Code" is the right hand image image.  

The canopy reminds me of my "Growing Shirt", 

and when I was looking through Jean Shin's web site, I discovered she has created similar work.  She calls her ones "Skeleton Shirts".

Two other images that appear in the Whole Cloth book, which connect with, and appeal to me, are from two other artists who used cloth in their works of art.

left, Cesar (Baldaccini) created this work in 1975.  He compressed a pile of jeans into this cool pattern. The book described the work as, taking the symbol of youthfulness ( symbolised by jeans) and mixing it with the affluence of the 70s designer jeans, which was interpreted as the transformation of rebellion into "expensive, chic, fashionable dress".  It is considered an acknowledgement of the power of jeans.

right, Masakazu Kobayashi called this work of art," Treasure".  Whole Cloth book considered it a marvellous takeoff of "furoshiki".  Furoshiki is the wrapping of objects using cloth. The corners of the cloth are drawn up and knotted into a handle.  A lovely idea.  Cesar's work is considered simple in colour and composition.  It is held together by the knot, tied right in the centre and Cesar placed his signature on the outside, where normally it would be on the underside.  The colour combination alone is very Japan.

Here are some variations of the traditional furoshiki wrappings

They come from this lovely book my Mother gave to me, years ago now.  It has wonderful ideas for wrapping presents.  The Japanese are highly skilled in this field..

I love wrapping, and the master of wrapping is.........Christo!

Isn't this the coolest way for his portrait to be taken....

and one of his wrapped masterpieces, The Reichstag, Berlin.  Just image the detailed planning and delivery that went into this creation, phenomenal.

This is Jeanne-Claude wrapped, Christo's wife.  They were a truely personal and working partnership. They were born in the same hour, on the same day, in the same year.  Amazing.  Sadly, Jeanne- Claude died in 2009. 

This is a "wrapping", Marist College style. At the end of the school year, the Yr. 13 students have a bit of fun,  carrying out various pranks.  I really liked this one.  If  I remember correctly, that was the year the school van was totally covered with post-it notes.  It looked amazing...I just thought of the time and effort that went into the delivery!  Kinda on a par with Christo.

Talking about work on a  big scale, I always wanted to decorate the London Eye, the way we used to decorate our bike wheels with crepe paper.

 Eric thought it was a bit ambitious, so I worked in this scale instead.

Going back to the compressed jeans image, I love this concept, which was used to portray fab. clothes, in one of my favourite magazines, 'Wallpaper'.  The artist/stylist played with the compressed idea to really cool effect.

I remember going to a Royal College of Art students end of year exhibition, and one of the students presented this fabulous piece that revolved around 3 items of clothing compressed into huge sheets of laminated plastic.  The student had composed a fantastic storybook that related to the 3 items of clothing.  It was handwritten, with beautiful sketches, and I think, it was a story about lovers.  I loved it, but have nothing tangible to remember it by, it is simply held in my memory.

Another cool series of images from Wallpaper, connect with the "uniform pieces", Sheila Hicks and Jean Shin have worked with.  It is such a creative way to feature the jeans they wanted to display.

I have another wonderful book of fabric and yarn.

It is full of wonderfully creative activities to share with students, to encourage their understanding and appreciation of fabric and yarns,  kind of similar to what Sheila Hicks did with Soft Stones.

Love this hat...one year, when working with a Yr 7 class, I got the students making pom poms.  They loved it, and one student created this super cool beanie.  She just wouldn't stop creating pom poms...aren't they fabulous.  I love her creativity, and hope she never loses it.

Another appealing image from the "Having Fun with fabric and Yarn" book.

These images are all about transforming a cushion into soft sculptures and using the imagination in a fab. way, which takes me to some cool styling from a "Dazed and Confused" magazine.  It was about billowing shapes inspired by the Comme des Garcons A/W 2010 collection.  I've touched on this collection previously.  I showed some images in my 7th blog, which related to historical influences in contemporary fashion.  There were also some images in my 5th blog which had a focus around tarten.  Here are some garments from the collection.  It related to "inside decoration", and was described as padding pillows on shoulders, hips and backs which added bulk.  This is a concept she had explored before, and hopefully, will again in the future, 'cos each time it's slightly different. 

Here are some of the images from the Dazed and Confused magazine, inspired by this collection.....cushions, pillows and padding tied in interesting and captivating ways!

This is my take on Dazed & Confused's "Inflate" spread!  Woven rag rug and fat shapes. 

This skirt is inspired by the CdG collection mentioned above.  Shirring elastic in the bobbin.  Lots of fun.  Another time, I would be much more random.

The "monstery" cushion I used in my "Inflate" images was inspired by this one on the left.  It is a photo from a fabulous book about cool and creative interiors.  I loved this image, so whipped the furnishing velvet type fabric off an Elizabethan costume I had made, and created my own one.  Cut according to the cloth I had available.  Such a lot of fun! 

Time, energy and things on a big scale...I just want to throw this in.
Years ago I was inspired by Kaffe Fassett.  I loved his tapestry vegetable series.  I  decided to do one in cross stitch.  So plotted out the pattern on graph paper...I must have had a lot of time on my hands!  I had to key the thread colours, etc.  Great planning, great idea at the time, but I never got it off the ground.  I found all the bits and pieces a couple of years ago, and thought what do I do with this now......so......I shoved it into a frame, as a memento of ......having the idea,... having the perseverance to prepare the template.....having the patience to plan out the thread and the colour.......and then discovering you could buy a tapestry kit for the same design!!

Well, I started with Sheila Hicks and I'm going to finish with Sheila Hicks.
Check out this Youtube link.  This is an absolutely beautiful book, and the superb photography makes Sheila's weaving work look so real.  What a joy it must be to hold a book like this in your hands, and, oh, so, carefully turn each page. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-wwbMxZFcs

Gotta go.
SLTSLTBsigning off.